How Did Hot Oil Cross the Land of Ice?

Hot crude oil had to travel 1,300km across frozen ground. If buried directly, the ground would melt and the pipes would sink, so how did they manage it? The answer was supports. They suspended the pipes in the air and attached heat pipes filled with coolant to these supports, allowing the ground's heat to be released into the air without electricity. About 120,000 such devices are installed, and the pipes were intentionally laid in a zigzag pattern to absorb thermal expansion and even earthquakes. Design of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, completed in 1977.