Feedback invited on plan to move highway to make way for LNG plant

The provinceis inviting people to give feedback on a proposal to move 3.5 kilometres of a rural, secondary highway to make way for a liquefiednatural gas project on the Eastern Shore.

Pieridae Energy, the proponent of the LNG project in Goldboro, N.S., filed its environmental assessment for the permanent realignment of Highway 316 on Wednesday.

Pieridae saidmoving the road is necessaryto improve safety and allow the company to access planned marine infrastructure.

The current road, also called Marine Drive, runs right through the proposed LNG plant site. The new road would swerve inland around the project and connect the communities of Goldboro and Drum Head.

The proposal would see Pieridae build the new, six-kilometre road to provincial standards, but the province wouldown and maintain it after it's completed.

The company held two community engagement sessions about the road realignment, and based on feedback from the first one, made some alterations that were "widely accepted"by participants at the second meeting, Pieridae said in its registration document.

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Pieridae does not anticipate any significant adverse environmental effects from the road project.

People can submit feedback about the road proposal until April 9, and the environment minister must make a decision by April 29. Construction is expected to get underway this fall.

The $10-billion Goldboro LNG project involves the creation of a natural gas liquefaction plant, a tanker terminal, marine facilities and power plant, as well as a camp that would house up to 5,000 workers who would build the LNG plant.

It received environmental approval in 2014.