page_title: Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
section_title: Finishing the line
hierarchical_section_title: Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System / Finishing the line
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the E.L. Patton bridge over the Yukon River
context_page_description: The construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System included over 800 miles of oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, and a new tanker port. Built largely on permafrost during 1975–77 between Prudhoe Bay and Valdez, Alaska, the $8 billion effort required tens of thousands of people, often working in extreme temperatures and conditions, the invention of specialized construction techniques, and the construction of a new road, the Dalton Highway.
  The first section of pipe was laid in 1975 after more than five years of legal and political arguments. Allegations of faulty welds drew intense scrutiny from local and national observers. A culture grew around the unique working conditions involved in constructing the pipeline, and each union that worked on the project had a different function and stereotype. Thirty-two Alyeska Pipeline Service Company employees and contract workers were killed during the project. The main construction effort lasted until 1977; the first barrel of oil was delivered on July 28 of that year. Several more pump stations, added as oil flow increased, were completed through 1980.
context_section_description: Few tasks were left to complete when the 1977 construction season began. Most of the pump stations had been turned over to operating personnel by construction workers, and environmental mitigation and cleanup was in full swing as Alyeska repaired tundra damage caused by construction. Associated-Green, which had performed its construction tasks well, was assigned the job of finishing the final touches on the main pipeline. The last 160 miles of hydrostatic testing were done, 33 remedial welds were completed, and 45 miles of pipe were insulated, among other tasks. Because the pace of construction was much slower than in 1976, fewer workers were needed. Fewer than 11,000 were employed at the peak of 1977 work, about half of 1976's total. On May 31, the final pipeline weld took place.
  Additional tasks remained still to be completed, but the pipeline could be put into operation without them. The 2,290-foot (700 m) E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge was not completed until October 1979; until then, traffic utilized a series of ferries across the river. Additional pump stations also were constructed between 1977 and 1980, as oil flow increased.
caption: The E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge was not completed until October 1979.
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