Workforce Accommodations and Morice River Bridge Work
Posted by Coastal GasLinkCoastal GasLink continues to progress preliminary construction activities, including site preparation for establishment of workforce accommodations at a location approximately 17 kilometres from the Morice River Bridge and the camp known as the Unist’ot’en Healing Centre.
Approximately 10 temporary housing units will initially be transported to the site with more added over the coming weeks. They will be occupied by local employees and contractors, whose work over the coming months will focus on building access roads and conducting right-of-way clearing required ahead of anticipation of construction, which is not expected to get underway until next year.
As part of our ‘local first’ commitment, Coastal GasLink’s workforce housing contractors have partnered with local Indigenous businesses to help with preliminary construction activities and ensure employment opportunities are provided to First Nations communities.
This week, Coastal GasLink crews expect to undertake work to remove a temporary structure located at one end of the Morice River bridge, as it impedes the safe access of heavy equipment and workforce housing units. This action follows several written requests made to Unist’ot’en for its removal, including an offer for alternate location placement or structures.
The decision to remove the temporary structure was made in the interest of safety. Coastal GasLink’s top priority is safety – the safety of our crews, as well as others, accessing public roads and active work sites where construction-related activities are underway.
We are committed to keeping communities, First Nations and other stakeholders informed as we progress this $6.2-billion critical energy infrastructure project that will safely deliver natural gas from the Dawson Creek area to a facility near Kitimat, B.C.
Frequently asked questions
How many people will occupy this workforce accommodation?
Initially, these housing modules will be occupied by a small number of workers and are part of the crew responsible for building additional units as well as undertaking the road works and ongoing maintenance which includes snow removal, grading and bridge replacement.
Will this work impact the local community or Unist’ot’en healing centre?
No. The location of this work site is 17 kilometers from the camp. Coastal GasLink has established and permitted work sites, which were surveyed in mid-January to delineate boundaries. Our crews have been working in an area that was previously cleared and their focus has been on site preparation and rough grading for placement of the housing units.
Additionally, safety of our people and those in nearby communities is paramount and we will have measures in place to ensure camp rules are followed.
Has this site been surveyed for cultural resources?
Our permit required that an Archeological Impact Assessment (AIA) be completed for the area prior to commencement of permitted activities and this was completed in 2015 for the areas where construction activities are underway. The archeology field program did not identify any archeological resources and further concluded low potential for culturally modified trees.
We have environmental inspectors monitoring construction activities.