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Grand Forks, N.D. (AP) A spokesman for the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline says its construction in North Dakota is nearly finished and the company plans to start filling the 30-inch pipeline with heavy crude oil before the end of the year.

Spokesman Jeff Rauh said filling the pipeline will take about four months. He said crews will check conditions along the route and at pumping stations.

The pipeline runs 218 miles through North Dakota on its way from Alberta to Illinois and Oklahoma. Construction of the North Dakota pump stations started last year.

The company restored an area in the Pembina Gorge area near Walhalla, after sinkholes developed last spring in the soil over looking the Pembina River. Rauh said Keystone and the North Dakota Forestry Service have a monitoring plan in place.

The pipeline is to carry about 435,000 barrels of heavy crude oil daily.

Information from: Grand Forks Herald, http://www.grandforksherald.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-11-09 1036CST | save this article / add to your favorites list