Some travel woes on Dalton Highway

On March 24 a tractor-trailer transporting ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel rolled over at milepost 58.6 of the Dalton Highway, just north of the Yukon River, spilling an estimated 4,000 gallons of diesel from a punctured trailer compartment, according to a report from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The tractor-trailer, which belongs to Tena Trucking, exited the west side of the highway. The tractor separated from the trailer and remained upright, while the trailer rolled into a ditch and sustained a puncture in the front compartment. Apparently the driver was uninjured.

Tena dispatched response personnel to transfer fuel out of the damaged tanker - the complete response will also involve the removal of contaminated snow, debris and soil from the site, DEC said. The closest body of water is approximately 1,500 feet from the spill site, the agency said.

In June 2014, in a similar sounding incident, a NANA Oilfield Services tanker truck departed the highway about 110 miles south of Deadhorse, rolling over and spilled about 2,500 gallon of the diesel fuel that it was carrying.

On April 1 the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced that the Dalton Highway was closed between mile and 393 and Deadhorse because of overflow from the Sag River, with the water 3 feet deep in places. Crews have been battling overflow from the river for the past three weeks but had been forced to suspend work because of zero visibility in an Arctic storm that had blown in - current temperatures are below zero, the department said.

Crews are focusing on releasing vehicles stuck in snow and ice, removing water and establishing berms to keep further water off the road. The department said that it anticipates the road being open again to all traffic by the night of April 2.

- Alan Bailey