On Nov. 29, 1975, President Ford stopped in Fairbanks, Alaska, prior to his trip to the People’s Republic of China. The purpose of his visit was to personally see the progress of and to lend support to one of the nation’s largest projects in making America energy independent while also maintaining a balance with the local environment. That project was the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, or TAPS, one of the longest oil pipelines in the world. It stretches across 800 miles of Alaska’s toughest terrain, starting in Prudhoe Bay and ending at the northernmost ice-free port in Valdez.

Construction began on March 27, 1975, and Wass completed by May 31, 1977. Oil production began almost immediately, and the first crude was sent down the line on June 20, 1977. Since then, over 19 billion barrels of

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