|
Dalton scheduled to reopen June 5 after flooding causes closure
The Dalton Highway is scheduled to reopen June 5 to 24-hour traffic, although the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said “drivers can expect typical construction project conditions” from a combination of continuing repair work and the start of scheduled construction projects.
Problems began in March with overflow from the Sagavanirktok River due to ice accumulating at the bottom of the shallow river and pushing flowing water to the top, creating a massive ice sheet extending for miles. The road was reopened to 24-hour traffic in mid-April, but was closed May 18 due to extreme flooding.
DOT&PF said Sag River breakup usually takes some four weeks, but this year the breakup season “is very condensed” due to unusually high temperatures north of the Brooks Range, causing snow and ice to melt much more rapidly than usual. “The rapid melting of the snow and ice has a greater impact this year because of the ice overflow that occurred in April,” DOT&PF said, with a large amount of ice remaining in the Sag River channels, reducing channel capacity and causing the water to flood.
Gov. Bill Walker has issued two disaster declarations, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said May 29 that $2 million in emergency relief funds would be made available from the Federal Highway Administration to help DOT&PF pay for repairs to the road. DOT said emergency relief funds would help pay for infrastructure damage and said state officials have estimated the total damage at $7 million.
Emergency Corps permit The Alaska District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit under emergency procedures May 21 to BP Exploration (Alaska) and other North Slope stakeholders covering a 64-square-mile area within the Prudhoe Bay unit, allowing for “breaching roads to redirect flood waters, placing culverts, lifting the existing road structure, constructing berms, and gravel extraction.” The Corps said the work began the evening of May 21 and will be completed over the next two months as needed to stabilize infrastructure.
“Work will be limited to those actions necessary to prevent immediate loss of life, loss of critical infrastructure, or loss of access to the impacted areas which may occur or are expected to occur as a result of the severe flooding event of May 2015,” the Corps said, with after the fact permit applications to be submitted for each specific action which involves fill within the waters of the United States.
- Kristen Nelson
| 