As the largest private project built in our nation's history, I do not underestimate the complex and important work to be done. However there is a clear advantage in timeliness when dealing with a known quantity that has existing infrastructure and previous development along the route. It has a huge head start on the Beaufort Sea project, which has no precedent and formidable technical, environmental and logistical challenges that may never be satisfactorily addressed. There is no question that the earliest completed projects will be the successful competitors for the market. Delay increases the risk that other supply sources will substitute for Alaska.
Timing is everything.
And, yes, there is a third advantage - Alaskans go to work sooner. Project costs and maximizing state revenues are critical considerations that I believe are best served by the Alaska Highway route. The presumed cost advantage of the shorter Beaufort Sea route does not include the time delay factor, nor the risk of denial in the permitting process. Furthermore, the frontier areas both on land and sea are unknowns and any cost estimate must include that factor. The technology of under ocean pipelines at untested pressure over never achieved length of 400 miles is a major cost risk.