Kinder Morgan protesters briefly block traffic near Highway 1

A small group of Kinder Morgan protesters temporarily blocked traffic on an on-ramp near Highway One in CoquitlamTuesday evening as contractors wrapped up drilling work for the day.

Five people who referred to themselves as'The Caretakers' stood outside a fenced area near the south ramp of the Brunette Highway Interchange and used a megaphone to call outKinder Morgan on itsspill record.

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The company confirmed it has a permit to undertake geotechnical investigations, including core sample drilling, at the site of the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.

"At this stage, what we're looking at is to understand the subsurface conditions in particular areas on the proposed route to help us choose best construction methods and inform the details, design, and engineering forthe pipeline," said project spokespersonAli Hounsell.

"We have a number of these studies ongoing. ... There are a lot of them that have taken place and hopefully will take placewithout much notice [and] without any attention to them. But certainly we're prepared for it and today, as our crews were wrapping up, some people showed up."

Hounsell said contractors will return to the site on Wednesday to finish up the work.

The protesters did not say if also plan to return to the site.