Atlantic Coast Pipeline signs construction contract

Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, a proposed 600-mile, natural-gas pipeline,  has signed a construction contract with Spring Ridge Constructors LLC (SRC), a joint venture involving four companies.

If approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), pipeline construction is scheduled to begin in the fall 2017.

The pipeline would run from Harrison County, W.Va., through Virginia into eastern North Carolina.

SRC, the lead construction contractor, includes Price Gregory International Inc., U.S. Pipeline Inc., SMPC LLC and Rockford Corp.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline also announced that, in early August, FERC set up the timeline for the project's federal environmental review process.

Based on the schedule, the pipeline expects to receive a FERC certificate in the late summer or fall next year, with construction beginning shortly thereafter.

The pipeline expects to complete construction and bring the pipeline into service in late 2019.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline said it is working with contractors to determine if it can complete construction sooner.

The pipeline’s partners are four energy companies: Richmond-based Dominion Resources, Atlanta-based Southern Co. Gas, and Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas, both based in Charlotte, N.C.