State considers checkpoints, restrictions on Dalton Highway

by The Associated Press

State officials are considering restricting traffic on the Dalton Highway to protect the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and North Slope oil facilities from terrorist attacks.

The options range from closing the road to the public to putting up checkpoints along the highway, said Del Smith, deputy commissioner of public safety. “No final decision has been made. We have to look at the legalities.”

Smith is among those serving on Gov. Tony Knowles Disaster Policy Cabinet, a group of state officials evaluating the security of the state's transportation, energy and communications facilities. The group is scheduled to submit its recommendations by Oct. 27.

Officials with Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the 800-mile pipeline, favor some type of traffic restriction on the highway, also known as the haul road.

“We've suggested to the state that one way to help secure the pipeline and the North Slope oil fields would be to provide some degree of control. It's up to the state to determine what that might be,” said Bill Howitt, Alyeska's senior vice president in Fairbanks.

The need for additional protection for the pipeline was driven home last week when a man fired a .338-caliber bullet into the line, causing a 285,600-gallon oil spill. The suspect, Daniel Carson Lewis, is being held on $1.5 million bail.