Just building the roads into ANWR would take 2 years. Then, the drilling pads need to be constructed, cooling pipe installed in the roads, pumping stations built, 70 miles of pipeline built, housing, airports, electrical infrastructure, and the list is vast.
The first drop of oil from ANWR will not be seen in Fairbanks for at least 5 years. That’s if they waive all the environmental impact studies, or shortfalls involved in construction. Add those, and it will be more like 8 to 10 years.
You are right....and if we would have started in 1995 we would be done. But people then said, "We won't benefit for 10 years so what is the point?"
I say if we start today we will see immediate stabilization at the pump and we will get the attention of the people we are currently beholding to in order to meet our energy needs.
I thought the plan was to build "ice roads" that melt every summer? Surely that can't take two years!
Could be. We took gravel from the Sag River in the winter, a lot of gravel. They would have to do something similar and haul the gravel a fair distance into ANWR. If they can't finish it in one winter they would have to wait until it freezes up again before they can continue. The haul road north of the Yukon River went a lot quicker, probably because we had borrow pits everywhere and could work year round.