The construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System included over 800 miles (1,300 km) 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.