NORTHERNMOST - Ice-Free Port in AK (Valdez AK), Fairbanks AK
N 64° 55.778 W 147° 37.771
6W E 470236 N 7200760
A large sign about the Alaska pipeline at a pullout near Fairbanks Alaska names Valdez Alaska as the northernmost ice free port in Alaska, which is why Valdez was chosen to be the end of the Alaska pipeline
Waymark Code: WM17340
Location: Alaska, United States
Date Posted: 11/29/2022
Views: 4
This interesting pullout along State Highway contains a lot of fascinating information about the Alaska pipeline, one of the great engineering wonders of the modern world, that 1977 opened access to the vast oil riches of the Prudhoe Bay area, and changed the economy of Alaska fundamentally.
The sign is located at the Alyeska pipeline pullout along the Steep Hwy. near Fairbanks, AK. The sign reads as follows:
"PIPELINE FACTS
[Map of the Alyeska Pipeline and Pump Stations]
* Length: 800 miles
* Diameter: 48 inches
* Crosses three mountain ranges and more than 500 rivers and streams
* Cost to build: $8 billion in 1977, the largest privately funded construction project at that time
* Construction began March 27, 1975 and was completed May 31, 1977
* First oil moved through the pipeline June 20, 1977
* First tanker to carry crude oil from Valdez: ARCO Juneau, August 1, 1977
ELEVATED
In permafrost areas where heat from the oil the pipeline might cause the ground to thaw and consequently become unstable, the pipeline is insulated and elevated above ground by means of a unique support system. This system includes support pipes embedded in the ground (called Vertical Support Members) that sometimes contain heat pipes to remove heat and keep the ground frozen.
HEAT PIPES
These self-contained passive refrigeration devices contain pressurized anhydrous ammonia or carbon dioxide gases which transfer ground heat into the air when the air temperature is cooler than the ground. This heat transfer process “super chills” the ground, ensuring that unstable soils remain frozen year-round to steadily support the pipeline.
There are more than 124,000 heat pipes along the pipeline.
PIPELINE SYSTEM
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline system (TAPS) transports crude oil from Alaska’s North Slope across 800 miles of tundra, rugged mountains, and rivers to Valdez, North America’s northernmost ice-free port. The pipeline traverses three mountain ranges, three major earthquake faults and more than 500 rivers and streams. The pipeline corridor includes more than 550 crossing areas for caribou, moose, and other wildlife.
HISTORY
In 1968 oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope, located between the Brooks Range Mountains and the Beaufort Sea. A consortium of oil companies determined that a pipeline offered the best means to transport the crude oil to a navigable port where it could then be shipped by tankers to the continental U.S.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company was established in 1970 to design, construct, operate and maintain the pipeline. It began moving oil in 1977.
The 800 mile long Trans-Alaska Pipeline system starts in Prudhoe Bay and stretches through rugged and beautiful terrain to Valdez, the northernmost ice free port in North America."
Type of documentation of superlative status: Informational sign
Location of coordinates: Alyeska pipeline pullout along the Steese highway
Web Site: [Web Link]
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