Engineering firm Dowl HKM has chosen a preferred route for a road connecting Nome, Alaska to the state’s roads and the rest of North America’s contiguous road system. The proposed corridor would extend from the road system near Manley Hot Springs on the Elliott Highway and travel west to the Nome-Council Highway on the Seward Peninsula.
The 500-mile road, which would generally parallel the Yukon River for much of its length, is estimated to cost about US$2.5 billion to build.
The Western Alaska Access Planning Study, which was commissioned by the State of Alaska, investigated the benefits of several alternatives when choosing a preferred route. The Yukon route was considered the best balance of community and resource development benefits with the least adverse impact to the environment and land ownership.
Benefits for mining were among the major considerations of the study. A road would support the exploration, development, and operations of mining projects by providing a less-expensive method of shipping supplies and fuel into the mines and transporting mining concentrates out of the mines, according to the study.
It is estimated that a road corridor would reduce the cost of building a natural gas pipeline to the Donlin Creek gold project by nearly US$1 billion, and reduce the cost of an electrical transmission line by US$100 million to US$200 million.
Communities along the route are expected to save about US$19.1 million per year in fuel, freight and mail transport costs if road transportation is used. Other communities near the road also would benefit but to a lesser degree.
The road proposal is supported by Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, who mentioned it in his Jan. 20 State of the State Address. Parnell is expected to ask the Alaska Legislature to appropriate US$2 million to continue studies and mapping needed to advance the project.
