Completion of Trans-Alaska
Pipeline

 Each day, thousand of barrels of oil flow over Alaska's mountains and under it's rivers and streams. The oil travels through the Trans- Alsaka Pipeline, an engineering marvel. This pipeline twists and turns for 800 miles, from Prudhoe Bay on the Artic Ocean to Valdez, an ice-free port on the Gulf of Alaska.

Vast deposite of oil and natural gas were discovered in 1968 on the frozen plain known as the North Slope. Several oil companies joined forece to build a pipeline to transport the oil south to a port where it could be pumped into tankers. But environmentalists opposed the project because they feared it would destroy the fragil Artic environment. Lawsuits blocked the start of work until 1973, when President Richard Nixon signed legislation authorizing construction. The rugged terrian and harsh climate were a challange to the engineers who designed the pipeline. Construction began in the summer of 1975. More than 20,000 men and women worked 12 hour days, seven days a week, on the project. Two years later, the pipeline was complete- at a staggering cost of over $10 billion. Since it's completion, the pipeline has provided thousands of jobs for Alaska residents and has been a great boon to the state's economy.

DID YOU KNOW....About 20 percent of the nation's total crude-oil output is transported through the Trans-alaska Pipeline.

In My Opinion....Did you also know the not one drop of oil that runs through the Pipeline is used in this country. It is all sold overseas at a price LESS than what we purchase it for.

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