Colville road project on hold

The state of Alaska has shut down its Colville River Road project, but is moving ahead on a road to Point Thomson and a western Foothills access road.

Draft reconnaissance engineering and economic reports are due in February on the Bullen Point Road, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said in December. The Bullen Point Road is a coastal route to oil and gas leases on state lands as far east as Point Thomson. Final reconnaissance reports are due in March, which is also the scheduled start-up for baseline studies for design and for an environmental impact study.

An access road to Brooks Range Foothills oil and gas prospects is further behind, with a March completion date set for a review of alternative routes and a schedule for preliminary engineering.

The state is looking at a 45-50 mile road running west from Milepost 357 on the Dalton Highway south of Pump Station No. 2 on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. This road would provide all-season access to oil and gas leases on state land in the Brooks Range. East-west ice road construction is generally not practical in the Brooks Range Foothills because of transverse slopes and terrain breaks.

The road that has been the most high profile, from existing North Slope roads to provide access as far as, and a bridge over, the Colville River, has been put on hold, the state said. The project shutdown is attributed to “changes in industry development schedules” in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which put the state’s road project “too far in advance of industry.”

Bridge crossing information will be held for a potential future crossing, and the state said its road engineering data may be of use to industry in the future.