The first pipeline is about 700 miles long and cost about $30 billion in normalized 2006 dollars.
The first two years were spent in planning, design, and permit acquisition (IIRC about 5,000+ permits from the feds and Akaska).
Actual build time of the 600 miles of pipeline from start to finish was just over three years.
Now, compare that to “The Fence.”
By the way, has anyone ever seen even one film clip of the allegedly ongoing effort to build “The Fence” on our southern border? I recall such clips and coverage of The Pipeline nearly nightly in the 70s.
That is what happens to all those "excess profits" if the Government doesn't steal them...they get reinvested in infrastructure and development.