Alyeska terminal road rebuilding begins

A $30 million rebuilding is under way on the five-mile road that links the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. marine terminal to the rest of Alaska. Gov. Frank Murkowski came to Valdez April 15 for groundbreaking on the Dayville Road project.

Two summers will be needed for the work, which will replace five bridges along the way, add a bike path, and bring the road up to current standards for the terminal workers and suppliers, as well as the thousands of tourists who mix with business traffic along the route.

“Since the terminal was constructed in the 1970s, the Dayville Road has become completely overworked and inadequate for its current traffic demands,” Murkowski said. “I am pleased we were able to advance the construction on this project by one year, making it the high priority it needed to be.”

Kiewit Pacific, the general contractor, is in the process of building a temporary detour route and bridges to handle traffic while the new road is under construction. Funding for the project is a mix of federal and state dollars, with the Federal Highway Administration paying 90 percent of the cost for the road and 80 percent on the bridges.

—Allen Baker