Actually by 1974 the TAPS was getting close to completion. I bought some land in Delta Junction in the first ag sale in 1978. That land turned out to be on the ROW for the proposed gas line to Valdez so the company( I vaguely remember it being Northwest Pipeline) in charge of that version paid me $50/year for survey rights. That route paralleled the TAPS down through the Copper River Valley and on to Valdez. Apparently the big three became spooked by having to once again tackle putting the pipe in the sheer cliffs above Keystone Canyon so the route was changed to the much longer, much more expensive and still uncharted route to Nikiski, Mike Chenault's backyard.