Beginning this week, the first of 500 to 600 pipeline workers are at work in Marion County. A staging area for workers and equipment has been established in the northern part of the county just west of 290th and Remington Road by Sheehan Pipeline Company. The pipe supply depot is nearby.

Working out of Augusta, employees are beginning work on the Keystone Pipeline System, digging trenches and laying 36-inch pipe for nearly 300 miles, beginning at 290th Road, moving south.

“It’s a movable assembly line,” Keystone Pipeline Spokesman Jim Prescott said Friday at Marion Chamber of Commerce.

As a first step, already in progress, crews are clearing out trees and moving power lines in the pipeline’s 110-foot right of way in preparation for construction.

As the crew completes the task, other crews follow, removing top soil, grading the route, digging trenches, and laying the pipe. Pipe joints will be welded, and each connection will be X-rayed on site. Other crews will cover the pipe and replace the topsoil.

The company anticipates completing the work by the end of October, weather permitting.