HOUSTON (June 26, 2012)--The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved part of a Canadian company's plan to build an oil pipeline along the Texas Gulf Coast.

The corps said in a letter Monday that TransCanada has approval for a 115-mile portion of pipeline near Galveston, but the company still needs approval for two other sections of the 485-mile line designed to transport oil to Texas refineries.

TransCanada is pursuing this portion of the pipeline as it awaits federal approval for Keystone XL, a more ambitious plan to build a cross-border 1,700-mile pipeline to carry oil from Canada's Alberta region to Texas refineries.

The proposal has hit several roadblocks, and the company is rerouting the line to avoid an environmentally sensitive area in Nebraska.

If that is approved, the two pipelines will connect.