The East-West Tie Transmission Project is planned to consist of a new, approximately 447-kilometre, double-circuit, 230-kV transmission line, primarily paralleling an existing transmission line corridor. The new East-West Tie will which connects the Wawa Transformer Station to the Lakehead Transformer Station in the Municipality of Shuniah, near Thunder Bay, with a connection approximately mid-way at the Marathon Transformer Station. The need for the project was established by the Independent Electricity System Operator to; (i) increase capacity to meet expected electricity demand growth in northwestern Ontario, (ii) provide two-way power flow across the tie, allowing more efficient use of generation resources, and (iii) create improved electricity system reliability, flexibility and operation. Additionally, in March 2016, Ontario declared that the construction of the East-West Tie Transmission line is needed as a priority project. Construction on the project began in October 2019. it is scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2022. As of August 18, 2021, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry revoked the Implantation Order, affecting construction activities and construction work resume across all work fronts. On July 21, 2021, due to extreme fire hazard and forest fires in the area, the Ministry issued Implementation Orders prohibiting construction activities associated with the project and NextBridge temporarily suspended construction from Thunder Bay to Pic Mobert First Nation. The Order was partially revoked on August 10 and fully revoked on August 18.
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