How the Alaskan Oil Pipeline was Built | Modern Marvels (S3, E13) | Full Episode

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I want cheep gas and mean tweets

I have been living in Alaska for 40+ years. I work in the oil field. I spent 27 years in Prudhoe Bay. Drilling Alaska oil to help America! Last 15 years in or Anchorage office. This started out on a 5-year plan, never have regrated a minute. I love this state, and the oil field! My father was working in Iran in the early 70's with Arco. I had childhood friend's whose fathers where working in Alaska. Never ever thought I'd be in Alaska! I love this state folks. I cannot even think of being else were.

I cant believe environmentalists would actually oppose a pipeline. Pipelines are the single safest way of moving oil. Our need for oil doesnt go away because a protest.

Nothing better than being in shop class and then the teacher puts something like this on and you get to relax for the rest of the hour. Thank you modern marvels 🙌

I was fortunate enough to meet two brothers that were both welders on this pipeline. They were from Quitman County in North Mississippi of all places, and so was I. They were the Toliver brothers, Mike and Kenneth. I learned most of what I know from these guys, and I wish that they were still around to teach me more. Men like them are gone for ever! Thank you both for what you shared with me! T. Haley.

In 1994 a gentleman with a welding truck broke down in N Mississippi. I stopped to help him that night. I had to help him take his drive shaft off. He couldn't close his hands for all the arthritis in them. He told me that he had worked on the pipeline from the start to finish and those cold Temperatures had left him nearly crippled. As a trucker, I couldn't imagine what these men went through to tackle this project of great marvels.

Fossil fuel is obviously the enabler for modern civilization. I doubt very many would want to go back 200 years if they experienced how hard life was back then. We should do the best we can to eliminate environmental risk but within reason, not to the exclusion of new sources.

The oil producers are the heroes who keep civilization running.

If you live in a modern society and not a tent you use oil every single day. The hypcrosity from the comment's here are ridiculous 🙄 yes oil is used to make gasoline for your car, that's literally all that goes thru environmentalist brains. But oil is also used for, roads, plastics, ball point pens, solvents, and countless other products. Having every car in the world electric doesn't magically end the need for oil in modern society. Infact having every single car electric would probably mean more oil for electricity production. Not to mention the amount of parts in a car made with oil in the electric cars, the seats, as an ingredient for the tires, the wire casings, plastic parts etc.

A nice history of the TAP. Some pieces not covered in Thompson Pass was the use of the Sikorsky S-64 to place compressors and Catepillars along the pipeline route so that time could be saved by working from the inside out without having to cut the path starting at the ends. The S-64 could lift 20,000 pounds on the "hook" and the compressors were placed first then the Cat tracks were laid out and the pilot would set the Cat with the ground crew helping with tethers right on the tracks. Pretty skilled pilot-Bob Brown I believe was his name. Once in place the compressors would bore for explosives and the Cats would push the rubble down into the valleys. Also the narrator made it sound like the camps were tough living. Not so after work. We had Gourmet chefs making pastries, steaks, King Crab and lobster to order most nights along with 4 full meals daily; breakfast to order, lunch (full roasts, fried chicken, pork roasts) and midnight chow which was usually the same as lunch. Movies every night and WSJ, NY times papers delivered daily. Average pay for skilled workers was in the neighborhood $75,000. Even the girls that did housekeeping were in the $25,000 range. Usually 2 weeks on and 2 off. I was there for the whole build working in various locations with helicopters and it was the experience of a lifetime.

Pretty cool that Ned Flanders from the Simpsons helped to build this pipeline!

I remember the oil pipeline being built in the 70s, it was a marvel of engineering.

A friend of mine, now Deceased, was a procurement specialist on the pipeline. He made sure that all the pieces were accounted for after purchase. He said that there was enough gold dug up that you could just walk along the pipeline picking up little nuggets. He proved that once by showing me 2 Mason jars full of gold dust and little nuggets. He would not say how many more he had. Gold Watch, necklaces , rings, bracelet, Pistol grips. Gold everything made from gold he picked up. William, " Bill" Williams, God speed brother !

I know some people that worked on the pipeline. They loved Alaska.

What a great documentary!!

Nice, from the days when The History Channel was actually worth watching.

Respect for Exxon of his oil industry refineries which making a lot of oil products !.

These men were the real deal that's hard work

This episode is now 25 years old and the pipeline is still operational. Granted, it has diminished in importance, and now moves about 500,000 barrels per day instead of 2,000,000.