The $6.6 billion Rockies Express Pipeline project is one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever in the U.S.

And as it nears completion in Monroe County, the benefits could be plentiful.

The pipeline is 1,600 miles long and carries natural gas from Colorado to the Ohio Valley. But it also brings with it a cheap source of energy, several jobs and a long-term economic development.

With just 10 miles left to go, the project will soon be completed near Clarington, but for Monroe County, officials said the end is just the beginning.

"It's going to pump about $600,000 in taxes into Monroe County," said Commissioner Carl Davis.

Davis said that in the short term, the area is already benefiting from dozens of jobs the project has created. In the long term, the new pipeline will provide a new revenue stream for the county during a time when other industry has shown to be unstable at best.

"A lot of (the revenue) will go into the school system," he said.

In the meantime, several construction jobs are already bringing in additional revenue and other long-term positions will be created after construction wraps up.

Once construction is complete, the money won't disappear but the pipes will. They'll be buried underground and the land will be used as it was before.

Major construction in Monroe County is scheduled to wrap up this fall and the pipeline is scheduled to start running Nov. 1. Some construction jobs will be retained through the end of the year, officials said.