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Repair work started on Dalton Highway
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said May 24 that repair work has started on the Dalton Highway, which remains closed from mile 335.5 to mile 413, with no estimate on when the road will reopen.
This is the second closure this year, and Gov. Bill Walker has issued a second state disaster declaration for Dalton Highway flooding.
The first closure was in March-April, following overflow from the Sag River and blowing, drifting snow and water over the road from MP 378 to MP 413. The governor verbally declared a state disaster April 7; the formal disaster declaration, April 8, enabled the state to fund emergency response cost and eligible repair work for the water overrun.
The Sagavanirktok River overflowed the Dalton Highway between MP 390 and MP 405 March 13 in multiple locations, with the overflow as much as 30 inches higher than the road in some areas.
Second declaration The second disaster declaration was issued May 22, and covered a wider scope of the highway.
“While the impacted area is similar, the root cause of the flooding is different,” Walker said in a statement.
The second flooding event was caused by record-high temperatures accelerating spring snow melt in the Brooks Range, producing a high runoff which overflowed the Sag, Kuparuk and Colville rivers, causing flooding along portions of the Dalton Highway, Deadhorse Airport and nearby facilities.
The disaster declaration will enable DOT&PF to request Federal Highway Administration emergency funds and waive some state permitting requirements.
Construction planned The department had two reconstruction projects planned for the area: MP 401-404 was to start this summer and last two years. The $27 million project would raise the grade 7 feet, replace culverts and surface the road.
A second project, for MP 370-401, was planned for the summer of 2016, but will run concurrently with the first project because of the road damage. The larger project has an estimated cost of $40-$50 million and will also raise the grade 7 feet, replace culverts and surface the road.
- Kristen Nelson
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