Tag Archives: environment

The road is officially washed out now

Another jarring image from Alaska Department of Transportation.  The road is definitely washed out now.  Yikes!

Dalton Highway washed outhttp://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/dalton-updates/

And here is another link for tons of photos and videos from AK DOT & PF:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/akdotpf/sets/72157651922122696/with/16982351150/

 

Aerial photos of the road closure from Alaska DOT

Jack said “Holy Sh**!” when he looked at the Alaska Department of Transportation page today.  Not because of the photos of the road flooding but when he saw this:

2015: Dalton Highway 401-414 Reconstruction, will start this summer and is a two year project. Construction contract award is $27 million. The scope of the project is to reconstruct the Dalton Highway from Mile Post 401-414, improvements include raising the grade seven feet, replacing culverts and surfacing the road.

2016: Dalton Highway 379-401 Reconstruction, scheduled for construction in 2016, estimated cost is $40-50 million. The scope of the project is to reconstruct the Dalton Highway from Mile Post 379-401, improvements including raising the grade seven feet, replacing culverts and surfacing the road.

This will raise the road 7 feet above the tundra, so when someone goes off the road, it will be a lot bigger deal.  Here is the link for that Alaska DOT page:  http://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/dalton-updates/

Here are two aerial photos of the flooding, both from the Alaska DOT webpage.  Click on the photos for more info on the captions.

On the left you can see the remnants of a berm that was created by excavators to hopefully hold the water back and direct it away from the road. But the water has now spilled over the road and broken through the berm. You can also see how the road is washing away. From AK DOT webpage.
On the top of the photo are more berms that were created to direct the water away from the road. From AK DOT webpage.

Video from right before current road closure

This is a video from trucker John Slater that shows how the Dalton looked last Saturday.  The road is now closed because of the overflowing Sag River making it impassable once again.  See prior posts for more info.

https://youtu.be/p9O2ca5WfNE

 

 

Cleared lane through avalanche blockage

Here is a quick video from when Jack went through the cleared lane that the State of Alaska loader made after the avalanche on Atigun Pass.  Don’t forget you can change the settings in the lower right hand corner if the video looks grainy.

 

Avalanche blocks the road on Atigun Pass

A few days ago Jack was held up for a couple of hours because of this avalanche that blocked the road on Atigun Pass.  To me, it looks like a small avalanche.  But Jack says this is the average amount of snow that usually falls on the road in this spot.  Other areas involve more snow, or less.

If a truck was caught in the path of this avalanche, it could have pushed the truck over the guard rail and ended up rolling it down the hill.  This is very rare nowadays since the State of Alaska does more avalanche control, shooting artillery at the mountain to dislodge the snow.

You can see the blocked road, the loader removing the snow, and also the melt water that was running alongside the road before the avalanche and which is crossing the road afterward.  The last photo shows the loader dumping water as well as snow.  They are best viewed if you click on the first one and scroll to the right.  I had to substantially lighten the photos because of low light conditions.  You can see the sun over the next hill and all the trucks waiting on the other side of the blockage.  This is about 10:30 at night.

Dalton Highway, April 16th & 17th

These photos are the last of the ones Jack took from when the road was in bad condition.  It’s much improved now, to the point where Jack says there’s nothing to take photos of.  When the melt starts up there though, who knows what will happen.

April 16th, Jack is heading out of Prudhoe. It was a cloudy morning.
The excavator is moving snow and slush away from the road to keep the water flowing to where they want it to go.
That’s all trucks waiting to get into Prudhoe.
This is the next day, heading back into Prudhoe.
These excavators are digging ditches and creating berms to hold the water back. Overflow from the Sag River has been harassing truckers and the State of Alaska for weeks before this.
Jack says this guy is scraping back the ice to find the road.
The delineator is about 5 feet tall so this shows how high the water got before it froze.
This photo is grainy, but you can see the left delineators showing a lot more than the others.

Heavy Equipment (one that floats!)

Here are the rest of the photos from when Jack drove through the flooded area, the portion of the road that was recently closed because of the overflow of the Sag River onto the Dalton.  There is a HUGE tracked vehicle that Jack says can float!  I can’t see how that’s possible but supposedly, if it breaks through the ice, it won’t sink to the bottom of whatever it is on.  In his case it’s a matter of a few feet to the ground.  But it’s just hard to imagine either way.

Click on the first one and scroll to the right.

Jack is heading toward Prudhoe so the Sag River overflow is coming from the right.
This is the tracked vehicle that Jack says can float. He called it an excavator with float tracks but it probably has a specific name.
You can see multiple berms created by the excavators.
This plowing equipment is the State of Alaska’s – they are still there plowing the road. They take care of the road and the private contractors take care of the flooding.
Coming up on the line that is heading out of Prudhoe.
Jack is on the other side of the flooded area now. This is what the road is supposed to look like at this time of year.

Dalton road conditions, April 15th

The road is in much better condition now, but it’s still a work in progress.  It’s open 24 hours now but only one lane with a pilot vehicle.  More info on the captions of the photos.  They were taken the 15th of April.  The very first photo is out of order – I put it in front to show what the road is supposed to look like at this time of year.  It was taken closer to Prudhoe, after Jack passed through the hazardous area.

Click on the first one and scroll to the right.

Jack is on the other side of the flooded area now. This is what the road is supposed to look like at this time of year.
Only a couple of these rough areas exist right now with water flowing under the snow and ice.
Most of the area that was formerly closed looks like this, one lane with large berms on the right side where the Sag River is overflowing. Jack is heading north.
Looking to the right you can see the large berms that have been created to hold back the overflow.
Normally there’s several feet of the delineator showing.
Quite a bit of water is flowing here.
Looking to the right where the water is flowing as Jack passes over the open water.
This was on the left side of the road (going north).

Photos from the road closure, April 11th

These photos are from when Jack was stuck at the road closure.  He was waiting there 3 days to get unloaded.  As you can see, it was a beautiful couple of days, albeit cold ones.  The rigs in the distance are tractor-like vehicles on tracks with tanks to take the fuel Jack and the other truckers are hauling back to Prudhoe.  The road is now open during the day.  Click on the first and scroll to the right.  More info on the captions.

 

Jack finds a high perch to get a better view of the offloading up ahead.
He said this photo was an accident but I thought it was interesting since it shows what he was standing on.
Jack took a panoramic shot which makes it look like the road is curved. It’s actually straight.
Jack and several other truckers waited there over 70 hours.
What a beautiful day! A cold one though, since it was only about 10 degrees and the wind was brisk.
These tankers were running back and forth to Prudhoe, transferring the fuel the trucks are carrying while the road was closed.
Jack says each of these tankers on the left carry about 2500 gallons. He carries 10,000 if he is full.
This one can carry 2500 each tank.
Jack was hoping this guy was coming to unload him but no, he must have been going to fill up some other vehicles and equipment down the road.