Pipeline project brings workers to county

By Jessica Coleman    
Staff Writer 
    Jackson County residents may have noticed more delays and flaggers on the roads on their routes to work in recent  weeks. Energy Infrastructure company Kinder Morgan is building a 50-mile pipeline that stretches from Sheridan to Lolita.
    “Construction began roughly two weeks ago and there will be an additional three months of construction,” said Melissa Ruiz, a Kinder Morgan representative out of the Houston office. “For the area around Edna, we will continue construction activities for another month and a half.”
    The project, called the Crossover Project, will provide natural gas to the Kinder Morgan Tejas Intrastate system, which according to the Kinder Morgan website includes over 3,000 miles of natural gas pipelines which deliver natural gas to Houston, Corpus Christi, the Beaumont area, and east Texas. The system processses, treats, and stores natural gas as well as getting it to its destination for purchase.
    Kinder Morgan asks that residents use caution when driving and look carefully around them when passing construction. Flaggers will be present on roads to direct traffic in areas where it is necessary.
    “Kinder Morgan is pleased to be providing transportation solutions to customers interested in using clean, affordable natural gas for their industrial needs,” said Ruiz. “Natural gas continues to be the fuel of choice for customers across the U.S. and we are well known as one of the safest asset operators in the industry.”
    Anyone with questions about the company or  project is asked to go to www.kindermorgan.com.