With help from marching bands, West Roxbury pipeline protesters vow to continue fight even after gas starts to flow

Two marching bands on their way to the annual Honk festival in Somerville and Cambridge this weekend detoured through West Roxbury this afternoon to join a protest against Spectra Energy's nearly completed West Roxbury natural-gas pipeline and transfer station.

Organizers of the local protests, which started two years ago, vowed today to continue to fight the high-pressure line even if Spectra starts pumping gas into it, possibly as early as next month.

They said they would turn their attention to National Grid, which is buying gas shipped through the pipeline for its Boston-area network and try to convince it to cancel its contract. National Grid, they said, should fix some 3,000 leaks in its existing system before buying more gas, especially via a pipeline that could pose a safety risk to the densely populated area.

Forward! Marching Band from Wisconsin and May Day Marching Band from Pittsburgh joined up across the street from Spectra's metering and regulating station at Grove and Centre Streets for a jam session before marching with residents down Grove along the side of the facility.

Among the locals: Mary Boyle, who holds a vigil outside the site every Monday morning:

On the way back down Grove, the bands and residents marched on the quarry side of the street.