COREY BROCHU, LEFT, a safety advisor with Enbridge Inc., talks with Mark Pilette of Quinnesec and Laura Branz of Iron Mountain about the Line 5 pipeline at an open house Thursday at the Pine Mountain Ski and Golf Resort. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Dozens of area residents curious about Enbridge Inc. and its Line 5 project got a chance to ask questions and talk with company representatives at a two-hour open house Thursday at the Pine Mountain Ski and Golf Resort.

“We do about 15 of these a year in the Midwest,” said Paul Meneghini, community engagement manager with Enbridge. “It’s an open house, so people can come in and ask questions, find out what we’re all about.”

Enbridge hosted similar events in Marquette and Bessemer earlier in the week, Meneghini said. He added the company last held such an event in Iron Mountain in 2018.

This year’s open house had a variety of displays, including a video presentation about the proposed Line 5 replacement project under the Straits of Mackinac, company priorities and its commitment to safety.

“Obviously, the pipeline is a big thing right now,” Meneghini said, adding the 40-plus people who showed up in just the first hour of Thursday’s event topped the attendance of the open house in Marquette on Monday.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the company used a virtual open house posted on its website, www.enbridge.com, to update the public.

“We had to do something with COVID,” he said. “But this is far more valuable than sitting at a computer.”

Mark Pilette of Quinnesec said he decided to attend Thursday’s open house after receiving an email about it, giving him a chance to show his support for the Line 5 pipeline.

“This was interesting,” he said. “I learned a lot.”