Kinder Morgan Pipeline Plan Sparks Economic Hopes in Tennessee

A new interstate natural gas pipeline is planned to cross western DeKalb County in Tennessee. The Southeast Connector project, spanning about 150 miles of 48-inch-diameter pipe from Kentucky to Alabama, could affect 50 landowners in Alexandria and Liberty. Kinder Morgan Vice President Allen Fore explained that the proposed route includes 10 Tennessee counties, including Sumner, Trousdale, Smith, DeKalb, Cannon, Warren, Coffee, Franklin, and Marion.

The project is expected to take at least two years to complete, with environmental studies, land surveys, and property easement acquisitions underway. Fore said the pipeline will go into service by 2029. The Southeast Connector will join two existing pipelines at the Kentucky line that stretch across western Tennessee into Mississippi.

'This project will bring additional natural gas supplies to Tennessee and the Southeast,' Fore explained. 'It will connect with an existing line that runs from the Gulf all the way to New Hampshire.'