It would certainly cost billions. Many billions. And it would take several years at least, depending on how many spreads are going at once - what you essentially do is build a whole bunch of "sections" of pipelines with different contractors responsible for each, and then they connect. So the amount of time to do the work depends on how many contractors are working on it, and the more you have going at once the higher your cost. Also depends how many of them screw up and take longer or have to have their work "fixed", which is basically inevitable. And there's not an unlimited number of pipeline contractors available to work.
But the time to complete you're referring to is largely a product of regulatory issues. In emergency circumstances like this, there might be adequate political will to dispense with a lot of those issues. Can't run roughshod over indigenous consultation where needed, and the amount of required depends on the pipeline route, of course. But the key issue is whether Quebec tries to veto the thing. Right now might be the ideal time to actually get it done.
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