Lisa Murkowski: “I advise my colleagues that 20 years ago today, a truly historic event occurred in my State of Alaska that had much to…”

“I advise my colleagues that 20 years ago today, a truly historic event occurred in my State of Alaska that had much to do with the shaping of the character of our State probably as much as the majestic and unique parts of our State, whether it be in the mountains or glaciers. On June 20, 1977, at 10:06 a.m. at Prudhoe Bay, AK, the crude oil discovered on the North Slope 9 years earlier began to flow. It began its journey south some 800 miles to the ice-free port of Valdez through the Trans-Alaska pipeline. That first trip, which now takes about 5 days for the oil to move, took over 1 month to complete and marked the culmination of the largest private construction project ever undertaken in the history of North America. Since that time, every citizen has benefited from this marvel of American engineering, but few really understand how significant this feat was and how much it has contributed to our Nation.”