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Moving oil that comes out of the ground at 155-180 degrees Fahrenheit presented a special challenge to pipeline designers and engineers. Most pipeline systems of the time were buried, but, in Alaska, much of the land is underlaid by permafrost. To keep the permafrost from melting, roughly half of the pipeline is elevated on special supports.


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© 2010 NSPE. A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering | Disclaimer | Contact: Stacey Ober, pr@nspe.org, at 703-684-2815
ALASKA Printable version
Pump Station No. 9-Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
Mile Post 258 Richardson Highway, about 7 miles south of Delta Junction
Delta Junction, AK 99737
907/895-5096 (Delta Junction Visitors Ctr.)
Web Site
Take a guided tour of the Pump Station, given by on-site staff. Call for admission fee and schedule. 
Hours of Operation: Tours are seasonal. Call the Chamber of Commerce or Visitors Center for details. Need a map?
The $8-billion Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, one of history's most difficult engineering feats, was the largest private construction project of its time. Built in 1975-77, the 800-mile, 4-foot-diameter, zigzagging pipeline carries crude oil from 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle down to the terminal at Valdez, the nearest ice-free port. About half of the pipeline is above ground as it crosses three mountain ranges, 34 major waterways, and some 800 small streams. Inside Pump Station No. 9, three pumps put through about 1.2 million barrels of North Slope oil a day. Traveling at 5.4 mph, the oil takes 6.2 days to traverse the pipeline.
 
Who Made It: Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, a consortium of oil companies.
 
Photo Credit: Courtesy Aleyska Pipeline Service