July shutdown for Alaska pipeline work

The trans-Alaska pipeline is scheduled to be shut down only once this summer for major maintenance work. In past years, it has been shut down twice.

A spokeswoman for the line’s operator, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., said plans call for work to be done at pump stations four and 11 during the scheduled 36-hour shutdown July 16 and 17.

Major maintenance work is routinely done on the line during the summer.

The 800-mile line is Alaska’s economic artery. It carries at least 10 percent of the nation’s crude oil production, on average.

—The Associated Press