Tag Archives: carlile transportation

Huge natural gas tank being built

Jack’s been doing a little bit of heavy haul this past week.  He took a 95 foot cement panel from Anchorage to Fairbanks.  The panel was just one small part of a natural gas tank that is being built in south Fairbanks, as you can see in the below photos.  It was about a foot of cement poured on a thick metal sheet that is slightly curved.  We stood on it to take photos.

Jack Jessee, just hauled a cement panel to Fairbanks for the new LNG tank.
LNG tank at Fairbanks Natural Gas under construction. The large crane on the far right picks up the panels first.
Two cranes and multiple man lifts, moving in coordination to place a panel (on the right).
The yellow strongback is being attached to the cement panel on the back of Jack’s truck.
Picking up the panel.
The strongback prevents it from cracking when they pick the cement panel up.
One cement panel is 95 feet long and 8 feet wide and it runs the full height of the tank.
A cement panel is being secured.
A crane and parts of Jack’s truck are in front of the inside of the tank.
The panels are held in place by 4 temporary supports (2 on top and 2 in the middle).

Hilltop Truck Stop, before heading north

Jack takes a break at Hilltop before heading down the road.  This is sped up very fast so you can see the daylight fade.  At some point the camera’s time clock locks up.

Comin’ down The Shelf

You can barely see the surrounding hills and mountains while Jack drives during a snowfall.  Just a nice calm driving experience with a little music to make it more interesting.

The road is cleared!

Recently the Dalton was drifted shut near Slope Mountain.  This video starts right after 2 blades (graters) clear the road and one parks in front of Jack.  If it weren’t for the plowed path, you can’t really tell where the road is unless you watch the delineaters, those reflective markers on each edge.

Purposeful avalanches on Atigun Pass

About a week ago the State of Alaska triggered some avalanches on Atigun Pass and then cleared a path through for the trucks.  The first video is a short one taken right after the loader and blower were done and the second one is longer and that’s when Jack was heading back the other direction, toward Prudhoe Bay.  Thanks to the State for being proactive in keeping our truckers safe!

 

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Loads from days past

Here’s a gallery of photos of various loads Jack has hauled or encountered in his days of driving the Dalton.  Click on the first one and scroll to the right.

Coming back from Prudhoe with a dozer.
Heading north with a dozer in the summertime, fueling up at Hilltop.
Hauling a crane.
Making room for a wide load climbing 3 Mile on the Dalton.
Chained up to start the trip from Hilltop going north (Jack was pushing)..
A Stryker, going to Anchorage.
A turbine in a box in Healy, going to Prudhoe.
Eighty foot pipe for a pipeline.
Who knows what’s in this mod going to Prudhoe.
A couple of cooling units in Glennallen after they were barged to Valdez.
The same kind of load, but turned around and very dirty. Fueling up in Coldfoot.
Not a very big loader but weight restrictions during break up resulted in this long trailer.
Somebody is being funny.
An insulated tank from Greer Welding.
Same load. This tank can sit on its end or on its side.
Pushing a big Volvo loader.
A mod, not covered with plastic.
The same mod – Jack is pushing it to Prudhoe.
Twelve wide trailer with mod going north.
The same trailer (with booster decked up) being pushed back to Fairbanks.

 

 

Heavy haul load with 2 push trucks

For some reason, years ago, Jack documented this heavy haul load quite thoroughly so why not share it with you guys.  This is a 2006 heavy haul load with 2 push trucks going up Atigun Pass on the Dalton Highway, and coming down the other side.  The load might be some kind of heater, maybe to heat the oil going down the pipeline, but Jack’s not totally sure.  It’s an outside unit so didn’t need to be covered.  Click on the first one and scroll to the right.

Leaving Hilltop, nice and clean
Jack’s push truck
Climbing the Shelf before Atigun Pass
Starting up Atigun Pass
At the top
Bottom of the northbound side of the pass

Lost load, an explosion box

Years ago Jack came across this load that fell off a truck north of Coldfoot.  Click on the first one and scroll to the right.  More info on the captions.

 

Jack is pretty sure this is an “explosion box”, a portable unit that’s probably used as a break room next to a rig most of the time, but it’s most crucial use is as an explosion shelter. If there’s a an explosion individuals can stay in it for protection. It’s actually upside down here and the damaged attached boxes are probably heaters or ventilation units.
The driver was looking to the left, drove off the road on the right, then turned the steering wheel abruptly to get back on the road, breaking the chains that held the box down and tossing it off the trailer.
Marks where the box first hit the ground.
This is most likely how the fallen load was tied down. This truck is carrying a similar unit.
There are four chains here. The fallen load was probably tied down correctly but the force was enough to break pieces of the trailer, probably not the chains themselves.

Jack’s first heavy haul load

This was Jack’s first heavy haul load.  He wasn’t actually part of the a heavy haul division yet but obviously it was a landmark load for him.

You can see the partially melted snow and the dry road.  We are almost to that point in the year right now, and you can probably believe that it is an exciting time for us Alaskans who have snow 8 or 9 months of the year!

Happy Spring and Happy Easter!

Jack's first heavy haul load

A Glorious Morning on the Road

An amazing thing happened when I was on the road with Jack one time.

We woke up at what the truckers call 62 Mile, a good-sized pullout used by truckers and tourist buses and just anyone traveling the road.  It was Pink Birch Tree on the Daltonlate September and the drive up north had been sunny and crispy cool.  I could not have gotten luckier on a time to be on the Haul Road.   Orange and yellow autumn colors abounded and even a pink birch tree showed up every so many miles.  (Click to enlarge.)

Tourists on the Dalton HighwayNo snow had fallen, but when we woke up that morning at 62 Mile the tundra outside was a winter wonderland.  There were tourists milling about, gazing at the frosty grasses that surround the pull out.

Tourists on the Dalton HighwayAnd as you can see, there was a long line at the restroom, so I decided to take a walk out onto the tundra, and I’m so glad I did.

I discovered frost-covered fireweed, spider webs glinting in the morning light, and best of all, an absolutely stunning mist rainbow.  I hadn’t known they even existed before, but now I have proof they do.  As the frost was evaporating off the tundra, the water vapor in the air created a rainbow that shimmered in the sun’s light.  As I stood watching, the sunlight slowly burned off the frost on the ground, leaving plants thawed on one side and still frozen on the other, and the glorious rainbow eventually faded away with the warmth of day.

A moment of astounding beauty.  Luckily, I took a quick video and lots of photos, some of which may give an inkling of how amazing that morning was.  If anyone ever tells you that the arctic tundra is a frozen wasteland with no redeeming qualities, here is proof that it is not true.

(Click on the first one and scroll to the right.)