Despite the most recent Enbridge construction newsletter, which provides little valuable information (although it does feature Enbridge’s rugged Michigan poster-boy “Dr. Michael Milan” all decked out in his hunting camos), we know a lot of you are wondering where all the construction crews have gone as you stare out at the forlorn stretches of steel pipe lazing around in your yards. We wondered the same things for weeks until activity picked up on our property very recently. Well, rest assured that we still try hard to keep you all informed, so we wrote to Project Manager Tom Hodge and asked why nothing was happening in so many places. He was traveling when we asked (to Hobart, where he appears to have won the hearts of local residents), but he did respond quickly (although he hasn’t followed up as we also requested; if we learn any more, we’ll let you know.). Here’s what Hodge said: “our difficulties securing right of way have led to much more moving around than normal and resulted in crews leaving work unfinished in multiple locations between Stockbridge and Ortonville.”

Looking around our own neighborhood, that fact is quite evident. Two parcels to the west of us, not an inch of soil has been touched, even though it’s been mayhem on our own. In fact, here’s a taste of what they did this week; they bored and pulled nearly 500 feet of pipe underneath our road (more pics and video of this activity coming soon):