New Pipeline points North from Squamish

Squamish is going to see its fair share of construction this summer. The most obvious is the Sea to Sky highway upgrades. Some Whistler commuters might be wondering what the new black and yellow “SURERUS” signs northbound on 99 near Alice Lake are for?

Another infrastructure project is taking flight from our locale. Fort St. John based Surerus Pipeline has announced that it will be building a natural gas connector line from Squamish to Whistler.

Until now, propane has been the mainstay of the RMOW. Natural gas produces lower CO2 emissions than propane and pipelines have a better safety record than rail for transporting propane. Currently propane is transported to Whistler with rail cars.

The actual pipeline is owned by Terasen Gas and Suereus actually won the contract through Kiewett and Sons.

Surerus President and founder Brian Surerus stated “We are pleased to see that a significant portion of the work being undertaken to make Whistler and area ready to host the 2010 Olympic Winter Games is being completed by a major pipeline construction firm based in Northern BC – extending the benefits across the Province.”

The local economy should see some benefit as well. During the 90 day project, approximately 25 people will work on the project. The pipeline will stretch from Depot Road to Rubble Creek.

“Our crews are camping, staying in hotels and renting condos in Squamish. We will be obtaining our fuel and lots of services in Squamish. There also will be some local hiring.” Says Surerus.

It seems that Squamish has only just begun to fill its role as an infrastructure epicenter for 2010.

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The Kiewett Effect

One can’t drive around Squamish without running into at least one yellow truck emblazoned with “Kiewit and Sons” on the side. It seems the huge U.S. owned company not only makes a huge impact on our roadways, but on our local economy.

Since the start of the Sea to Sky highway project, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Kiewit paychecks being mailed to Squamish mailboxes. Seventy-six Squamish residents took jobs at Kiewit and there are a total of 450 workers employed on the project in the corridor. Many of those rent rooms or homes while they work here. Project Manager, Chris Dundarand currently manages Segment 3 (Furry Creek to Depot Road) and has 130 staff under him. He says the Kiewit philosophy is to hire and train locals for construction jobs, and a few of those locals came from the forestry sector. Managers like Dundarand are often brought in to supervise. Dundarand plans to be here 2009 and beyond, when the project completes.

“I enjoy the amenities that Squamish has to offer,” he said.

“The outdoor activities and the proximity to Whistler are great. If I can manage to stay here after, I will. A lot of my staff feel the same way.”

Dundarand goes on to explain that Kiewit integrates with the communities they work in. “We are a gold level supporter of Squamish Days this year and sponsored Wild at Art. Last week I was flipping burgers at McHappy Day.”

Remax Sea to Sky Realtor, Denise Salmon is seeing the “Kiewit effect” on her business.

“All of us have sold or shown homes to someone connected to Kiewit. Equipment operators, engineers and environmental consultants have all looked at houses with me in Squamish. One example is a client who resided on the island and decided that he was going to be here long enough to sell his house and bring his wife and two sons here.”

Vancouver transplants Kyle Coulter and Laurel Terlesky are typical of what you would call the Squamish newcomer and Kiewit literally paved the way for them to move here. The young couple was looking to escape the city and buy their first house. Aged 31 and 30, they moved here in 2006. Kyle operates equipment for Kiewit on the night shift and enjoys the amazing mountain bike trails and snowboarding in the winter. They chose Squamish over Revelstoke when Kyle got the job last July. Laurel, a former CBC employee is an artist and operates a graphic design and illustration business from their home. Chances are they will stay long after the highway is finished, which is slated for completion in 2009.

Other businesses are making yellow turn into green. Stop in at the Ocean Port hotel any night of the week and chances are you’ll find a few Kiewit co-workers unwinding after a long day.

“I’ve seen an increase in sales. They rent rooms here and they are really good customers.” Says OP manager Scott McQuade.

McQuade says that Kiewit has not brought in the customer base that the forest industry did, but things are definitely looking up.So what happens when the highway contract is completed? Chances are a portion of those staff might leave and pursue the next Kiewit project. However, 12-year employee Dandarand feels that there is a chance that we might be feeling the Kiewit effect for some time.

“We are bidding on a lot of work in the lower mainland post 2009. It’s not unusual to for people to follow us to the next project.”