ESCANABA — As the legal battle over the future of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline under the Straights of Mackinac continues, Enbridge has been busy preparing to drill the tunnel the company says would allow for oil to cross into the Upper Peninsula safely.

“As far as the tunnel project, the team’s working hard on it. We’re making progress every day on the engineering and the design and the pre-work before we can do construction,” said Enbridge Spokesman Ryan Duffy.

Right now, the Canadian multinational energy company is involved in two lawsuits with Michigan over the existing pipeline, which Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Governor Gretchen Whitmer have attempted to shutdown.

The first suit is Nessel v. Enbridge Energy, filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in 2019. That case was moved from state to federal court before an appeal from the state remanded it back to state court due to timing issue. Enbridge is appealing the appeals court’s decision in hopes of returning the issue to federal court.

“We think it’s federal because, you know, we transport to Canada,” said Duffy, referencing a 1977 transit treaty.

The other case, Enbridge v. Whitmer, was filed by Enbridge and is in the early stages. Whitmer’s attorneys attempted to have the suit dismissed, claiming the state had immunity. A judge denied the motion for dismissal on July 5, allowing the case to continue.

While much of the argument from those opposed to Line 5 hinges on the safety of running a pipeline along the lakebed, Enbridge has argued that encasing a new pipeline inside a tunnel 60-250 feet beneath the lakebed would prevent the risk of anchor strikes and add a second protective barrier in the case of any spills.

“There’s a lot of people who want to see the tunnel move forward more quickly because then we can deactivate the lines currently on the lake bed,” said Duffy.

Enbridge is currently waiting on an environmental impact study and a related permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for the tunnel. A decision on that permit is expected in early 2026, and Duffy said construction would likely begin soon-after.

Two companies have already been hired to build the tunnel, Civil and Building North America, Inc. (CBNA), of Miami, Fla. and Barnard Construction Company, Inc., of Montana. According to Duffy, both companies have extensive experience in tunnel construction. Enbridge is also preparing to order a 300-foot-long drill for the project.

“It drills on one end, it puts up the concrete walls on the back end as it goes through there,” said Duffy of the machine.

In order to protect the existing pipeline while the permitting process and legal battles are ongoing, Enbridge established the Enbridge Straits Maritime Operations Center in St. Ignace. The center includes crews the monitor the straights 24-7 using seven weather-monitoring buoys and high-definition cameras located around the straights. The cameras can zoom in on ships passing through the straights to ensure their anchors are raised and crew members can radio each ship individually to confirm.

The system has been in place for two years. In that time, it has been used by first responders in various emergency situations, like missing boaters or vessels on fire.