AK-2 extension to Nome

[Duke87]

The Alaska Department of Transportation is working to construct a new road beginning at MP 16 on Tofty Road and ending on the south banks of the Yukon River, seven miles from the city of Tanana.

Soo... the road isn't even going to Tanana. It's just going to the dead end at the river 7 miles east. So, this accomplishes what, then? Is there not already a winter ice road connection to Tanana?


This also means it looks like the road is going to fall short of making it further west than Anchor Point.

[oscar]

The Alaska Department of Transportation is working to construct a new road beginning at MP 16 on Tofty Road and ending on the south banks of the Yukon River, seven miles from the city of Tanana.

Soo... the road isn't even going to Tanana. It's just going to the dead end at the river 7 miles east. So, this accomplishes what, then? Is there not already a winter ice road connection to Tanana?

Tanana has local roads east of town to the north bank of the Yukon, so a road to the south bank of the river sets the stage for the planned short ferry crossing of the river.  As noted upthread, an ice bridge might be possible in the winter, though I suspect that a "pioneer road" out of Manley Hot Springs will be one of those roads that gets no maintenance during the winter and is simply shut down for several months each year, like most of AK 8, the Cordova segment of AK 10 east of the airport, and all of AK 5 (isolating the villages of Eagle and Chicken). 

I'm not aware of any ice road down the Yukon from the Dalton Highway, or down the Tanana from Manley Hot Springs.  Ice roads, especially long ones as would be needed to connect Tanana to the existing road network, require a lot of work to make sure the ice is safe for vehicle traffic.  Unlike its counterparts in the Northwest Territories and Manitoba, Alaska DOT&PF doesn't normally do overwater ice roads.  There are some short ice bridges on winter roads to villages branching off the Dalton Highway, and a longer ice road over the ocean out of Prudhoe Bay to haul cargo out to oil production facilities, but those might be locally- or privately-maintained.   

[Duke87]

Tanana has local roads east of town to the north bank of the Yukon, so a road to the south bank of the river sets the stage for the planned short ferry crossing of the river.

Okay, but 7 miles east? I don't see any on the map or any evidence of them on satellite view. Looks like a couple streets east out of town end near the river, but only by about 2 miles. I'm not following how the description quite adds up.

I'm not aware of any ice road down the Yukon from the Dalton Highway, or down the Tanana from Manley Hot Springs.  Ice roads, especially long ones as would be needed to connect Tanana to the existing road network, require a lot of work to make sure the ice is safe for vehicle traffic.  Unlike its counterparts in the Northwest Territories and Manitoba, Alaska DOT&PF doesn't normally do overwater ice roads.

Huh. This kind of surprises me but I guess it shouldn't. I have this idea of ice roads as being really cheap alternatives for when all-weather roads aren't worth the money to build, so surely any town on a body of arctic water must be served by one. But I suppose that even if they cost practically nothing to "construct", they require just as much if not more in maintenance than a paved road would, and it isn't nearly as simple as saying "hey, the river froze over, go drive on the ice for 40 miles if you want to go to Tanana". (also, shit, it's 40 miles!? Goddamn it Alaska...)

[kkt]

Tanana has local roads east of town to the north bank of the Yukon, so a road to the south bank of the river sets the stage for the planned short ferry crossing of the river.

Okay, but 7 miles east? I don't see any on the map or any evidence of them on satellite view. Looks like a couple streets east out of town end near the river, but only by about 2 miles. I'm not following how the description quite adds up.

I'm not aware of any ice road down the Yukon from the Dalton Highway, or down the Tanana from Manley Hot Springs.  Ice roads, especially long ones as would be needed to connect Tanana to the existing road network, require a lot of work to make sure the ice is safe for vehicle traffic.  Unlike its counterparts in the Northwest Territories and Manitoba, Alaska DOT&PF doesn't normally do overwater ice roads.

Huh. This kind of surprises me but I guess it shouldn't. I have this idea of ice roads as being really cheap alternatives for when all-weather roads aren't worth the money to build, so surely any town on a body of arctic water must be served by one. But I suppose that even if they cost practically nothing to "construct", they require just as much if not more in maintenance than a paved road would, and it isn't nearly as simple as saying "hey, the river froze over, go drive on the ice for 40 miles if you want to go to Tanana". (also, shit, it's 40 miles!? Goddamn it Alaska...)

I had the pleasure of chatting with a retired Dept. of Highways worker from Edmonton who had a role in administering some of the ice roads in the Northwest Territories.  They were a lot of work to make and continually test for safety, a very specialized field.

[oscar]

GNWT Transportation's field guide to ice road construction illustrates the work involved in maintaining and safely operating an overwater ice road.

[texaskdog]

any road like this you know the last stretch will be the most interesting

[richllewis]

This article was on KNOM web site. It is located in Nome, AK. This article is about the work that will be going on in the bush this year. It is at:

http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/05/05/department-of-transportation-ramping-up-rural-projects/

Department of Transportation Ramping Up Rural Projects

By Zachariah Hughes, May 5, 2014   
Photo by Chris Plutt, courtesy of Alaska DOT   

Photo by Chris Plutt, courtesy of Alaska DOT

Federal money for rural infrastructure is drying up, and state agencies are overhauling projects while they still can. With Alaska's brief construction season about to begin, state officials are hurrying to bring airfields, roads, and other Bush infrastructure up to standard before funds get scarce.

The Alaska Department of Transportation is preparing for a busy summer in rural parts of the state.

"This is a 240 million dollar construction season for us,"  said said DoT spokesperson Meadow Bailey. "We're in over 20 communities across our region and then we have over 60 projects in those communities, so it's a really busy construction season for us."

Bailey is part of the DoT office in charge of most Bush projects. She's making the rounds ahead of the construction season to get acquainted with project sites and meet local officials.

In Nome, the DoT is starting a  $26.6 million runway extension at the airport in mid-May. More road and airport work is planned for Barrow, Kotzebue, Shishmaref, Emmonak, and elsewhere, along with an extensive new road project in the Interior.

"We're building about 18 miles of new road close to the community of Tanana, and the goal there is to be able to open up a mining coordior that has existing mines on it now but to give more access for those miners."  Bailey went on to explain another aim of the project, "To give the residents of Tanana–or to enable to residents of Tanana, to have a lower cost of living."

DoT is aggressively pursuing rural programs this summer in part because plans for larger projects fell apart during the legislative session. The state also expects federal money for infrastructure is going to decrease in the next few years.

"We're actually talking about kind of a restructuring of the DoT system. So that'll be a real shift that we'll see coming up in the next few years,"  Bailey said of the department front-loading it's Bush projects. "We have dollars right now, and we have projects in rural communities; last year, this year, next year–we're going to try and build and improve as much as we can because we know there's going to be a shift in Federal funding."

More than 90% of Alaska's money for airports, roads, and the Southeast Ferry System comes from Federal money. And not only are the funds diminishing, but nation-wide spending priorities are shifting toward cities.

"The focus is going to be more on urban areas,"  Bailey said. "T there's a lot of focus on more transit programs like bussing, cycling paths, that kind of stuff, and mass transit. And so in Alaska that's going to really change the focus from the rural communities to more urban communities. And that's the way federal programs are going to be funded."

With a looming sea- change in funding priorities, Alaska DoT is proactively trying to bring remote roadways and airstrips up to date. That's not an easy task in areas where a single-lane gravel road can cost up to a million dollars a mile.

The road will probably be extended as funding is available.

[Grzrd]

The Corps of Engineers is conducting a Deep Draft Port Study for the Nome/Port Clarence region

This article reports on the possibility of a Norwegian shipping company establishing a transshipment port in western Alaska, and it mentions the possible deep draft port at Nome/Port Clarence as well as "planners examining the rail and road links from Nome/Port Clarence to Fairbanks"

This June 11 article reports on a recent study which found that the Port Clarence port would not be economically feasible in the absence of off-shore drilling:

Development of a deepwater port along the Bering Strait is economically feasible in the coming decade only if oil development proceeds in Alaska's Arctic waters, an area where once-promising drilling campaigns have stumbled in recent years, a new study concludes.
The study, by Anchorage-based Northern Economics, evaluates the economic viability of a major buildup at Port Clarence, a bay and narrow peninsula about 80 miles northwest of Nome. The study, released Friday, was commissioned for the Bering Straits Native Corp., the regional Native organization with pending claims to selected lands at Port Clarence.

[oscar]

Today's ADOT&PF press release, on the kickoff for the Tanana access road project:

ADOT&PF, Tanana to hold kickoff event for Tanana Road Extension

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), in coordination with the community of Tanana, will hold a kickoff celebration Monday, July 21, in Tanana for the Tanana Road Extension.

The project, funded by the State of Alaska, involves constructing 20 miles of new road and upgrading 14 miles of existing road. The new single-lane, gravel road will be a continuation of Tofty Road near Manley, to the south banks of the Yukon River, about six miles from the city of Tanana. Construction will begin this month.

The road extension will bring significant benefits to Tanana in the form of reduced freight and cargo fees and reduced transportation costs for residents and visitors. The road will also increase access to mineral development in the Interior.

[oscar]

A later ADOT&PF press release says the planned completion date for the extension of Tofty Road to the Yukon River is December 2015.

[Grzrd]

This article includes a photo of tree clearing along the corridor :

Construction crews starting work on a road between Tanana and Manley Hot Springs this month will be doing something that hasn't been done in Alaska in almost 20 years: connecting a bush community to the Alaska road system ....
The "road to Tanana" as it has been called, does come with an asterisk. The single-lane gravel road that's being built this summer and next will finish on the south bank of the Yukon River. That puts it six miles upstream and a 20-minute boat ride from the city of Tanana, which sits on the Yukon's north bank. The $11 million project involves 14 miles of road improvements on Tofty Road near Manley Hot Springs and 20 miles of new road. The project's completion date is Dec. 15, 2015.
There are no immediate plans for a bridge across the river. The road follows a route that's been identified as a future road across the state to Nome, although there are no immediate plans for an extension beyond Tanana.

[Grzrd]

ADOT&PF has posted some photos from the Tanana Road Extension Kickoff Celebration:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/akdotpf/sets/72157645419207819/

One photo suggests a new roadgeek "clinch" category: official road ceremony cakes of which at least one piece was consumed:

[Grzrd]

ADOT&PF has posted some photos from the Tanana Road Extension Kickoff Celebration:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/akdotpf/sets/72157645419207819/

Yukon Men, the reality show set in Tanana, will air an episode on September 2 that partially explores the divisons in the town about the new road.  A clip on the show's Facebook page includes footage of clearing for the road:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=626235300830957&set=vb.441403812647441&type=2&theater

[Grzrd]

Yukon Men, the reality show set in Tanana, will air an episode on September 2 that partially explores the divisons in the town about the new road.  A clip on the show's Facebook page includes footage of clearing for the road:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=626235300830957&set=vb.441403812647441&type=2&theater

Here is a clip from the show about the road:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K7oipjPBM0

Here is the current method for getting your vehicle from Manley Hot Springs to Tanana:

Here is a clip from Yukon Men showing a truck being transported by raft down the Yukon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOjJ5qvLkPg

[Grzrd]

The Corps of Engineers is conducting a Deep Draft Port Study for the Nome/Port Clarence region

This opinion piece contains one person's vision of how the Nome/Port Clarence port, AK-2, and rail might look by 2030.
The port:

AK-2 and rail:

This June 11 article reports on a recent study which found that the Port Clarence port would not be economically feasible in the absence of off-shore drilling

This article reports that Corps of Engineers is planning to expand the port at Nome, that the expansion is justified by the potential of increased oil and gas extraction from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and that local residents are wary about a potential expansion of the Port Clarence port:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is set to unveil its first steps toward expanding deep-water Arctic ports in Alaska, and Corps officials said Friday they plan to start by expanding the existing Port of Nome.
"The report is making the recommendation for construction at Nome at this time basically due to its highly developed area, having a good runway, good hospital, already strong support that's already there,"  said Bruce Sexauer, the Alaska Army Corps' chief of civil works ....
The Corps eventually hopes to develop a system of deeper ports throughout Western Alaska. That includes the naturally deep-water of Port Clarence near Brevig Mission and Teller but residents of those communities near the western tip of the Seward Peninsula have opposed that plan. They've voiced concern over how a busy port would endanger seals, fish and other subsistence resources.
Sexauer pointed to increased traffic in the Bering Strait and growing resource extraction in the Arctic – including potential oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas – as necessitating the Arctic ports, starting with Nome.
"This port will be able to provide support for those types of activities that are going on out there,"  he said. "This will provide (resource developers) with a closer area where they can bring in their resupply ships and offload crews closer up in the Arctic."  He said expanded port capacity would similarly increase the ability for agencies to respond to emergencies in Arctic waters ....
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be in Nome Tuesday to meet city and port officials. The Corps' full report will be released to the public by the end of next week.

No mention of either a road or high-speed rail from Nome to Fairbanks and Anchorage, though. 

edit

Here is the Corps' full draft report.

[texaskdog]

What is considered a pioneer road?

An example: http://www.dot.alaska.gov/econstim/pd-huslia-landfill.shtml

Looks like it's basically "this is a cleared and graded way to get somewhere, and that's all you get."

It works.  I've been on more than a few roads in the UP like that.  Shoot, H-58 near Pictured Rocks was like that back in the late 1990s.

We thought about driving it from Grandma Ray to Munising and got about a mile down the dirt and turned around.

[Brandon]

What is considered a pioneer road?

An example: http://www.dot.alaska.gov/econstim/pd-huslia-landfill.shtml

Looks like it's basically "this is a cleared and graded way to get somewhere, and that's all you get."

It works.  I've been on more than a few roads in the UP like that.  Shoot, H-58 near Pictured Rocks was like that back in the late 1990s.

We thought about driving it from Grandma Ray to Munising and got about a mile down the dirt and turned around.

Grandma Ray?  I hope you mean Grand Marais.

[Grzrd]

ADOT&PF has posted some photos from the Tanana Road Extension Kickoff Celebration:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/akdotpf/sets/72157645419207819/

This September 11 Alaska Public Radio headline-challenged article/ broadcast recording reports that this summer's wildfires slowed construction, that the project is approximately 80% complete, and that, aside from the financial challenges, ADOT&PF does not have plans for further extensions until it can evaluate the impact of this extension on Tanana:

Construction of a new road to the Yukon River near Tanana is almost complete.
DOT Northern Region Spokesperson Meadow Bailey estimates the project is about 80 percent finished, with about 6 miles left to go before the road reaches the south bank of the Yukon across from Tanana.
The project is building 20 miles of new roadway and improving 14 miles of existing road, extending north and west out of Manley Hot Springs.
Bailey says the work schedule was thrown off by this summer's wildfires.
"We lost about three week's worth of work. We actually had to evacuate the project for a while because the fire was burning around the project and jumping back and forth across the road. So we expect the majority of the work to be done this year, but there may be some really minor things to be completed next year."
Once the road reaches the south side of the Yukon, DOT has no further plans or funding for building any more of the long-debated "Road to Nome." The proposed corridor for that road travels along the north side of the Yukon, necessitating a bridge or ferry to get vehicles across the river.
The road to Tanana was paid for under the Roads to Resources program, which began under Governor Frank Murkowski as a means to improve access to rural communities and to areas with potential for oil, gas, and mineral development. No additional funds have been put into the Roads to Resources program recently.
Bailey says that DOT will watch how the road impacts the lifestyle and economy of Tanana before extending the road any further west along the Yukon River corridor.
"We'll see what the experience is for the residents of Tanana and if they feel like this is worthwhile, if it is decreasing their costs. These are things we will look at in the future."
The Tanana City Council, and the tribal councils of Manley, Ruby and Tanana, have all passed resolutions of support for the road in recent years.

[The Ghostbuster]

Does anyone believe AK-2 will ever reach Nome?

[mcarling]

Well, the future lasts a long time.  I was amused by the idea in one of the posts about high-speed rail to Nome, which I don't believe will ever happen.  I'm finding it difficult to imagine that it would ever be easier to reach Nome by road than by sea.  I think we'll have to wait to see how the extension now under construction affects Tanana.

I do think that transshipment between Port Clarence and Iceland will become an important cargo route.

[Rothman]

Well, the future lasts a long time. 

Well said.

[kkt]

Does anyone believe AK-2 will ever reach Nome?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Fritzowl?

[Alps]

This September 11 Alaska Public Radio headline-challenged article/ broadcast recording reports that this summer's wildfires slowed construction, that the project is approximately 80% complete, and that, aside from the financial challenges, ADOT&PF does not have plans for further extensions until it can evaluate the impact of this extension on Tanana:

Construction of a new road to the Yukon River near Tanana is almost complete.
DOT Northern Region Spokesperson Meadow Bailey estimates the project is about 80 percent finished, with about 6 miles left to go before the road reaches the south bank of the Yukon across from Tanana.
The project is building 20 miles of new roadway and improving 14 miles of existing road, extending north and west out of Manley Hot Springs.
Bailey says the work schedule was thrown off by this summer's wildfires.
"We lost about three week's worth of work. We actually had to evacuate the project for a while because the fire was burning around the project and jumping back and forth across the road. So we expect the majority of the work to be done this year, but there may be some really minor things to be completed next year."
Once the road reaches the south side of the Yukon, DOT has no further plans or funding for building any more of the long-debated "Road to Nome." The proposed corridor for that road travels along the north side of the Yukon, necessitating a bridge or ferry to get vehicles across the river.
The road to Tanana was paid for under the Roads to Resources program, which began under Governor Frank Murkowski as a means to improve access to rural communities and to areas with potential for oil, gas, and mineral development. No additional funds have been put into the Roads to Resources program recently.
Bailey says that DOT will watch how the road impacts the lifestyle and economy of Tanana before extending the road any further west along the Yukon River corridor.
"We'll see what the experience is for the residents of Tanana and if they feel like this is worthwhile, if it is decreasing their costs. These are things we will look at in the future."
The Tanana City Council, and the tribal councils of Manley, Ruby and Tanana, have all passed resolutions of support for the road in recent years.

Doesn't seem particularly helpful to have a road ending on the south side of the Yukon when Tanana is on the north...

[oscar]

The stretch of the Yukon adjacent to Tanana is not a great location for a bridge.  The nearest decent place for a bridge (cost being an issue) is about 8 to 10 miles downstream (to the West).  If the road will be extended beyond Tanana toward Nome, then it would make sense to consider building a bridge.  A bridge would be required to reach Nome, because it's north of the Yukon.  However, the next community downstream is Ruby, on the south bank of the Yukon, more than 100 miles west of Tanana.

Wouldn't a crossing of the Yukon downstream from Tanana require construction of an additional bridge across the Tanana River? Maybe I'm missing something, but ISTM that a single bridge across the Yukon upstream from Tanana would be less expensive than a bridge across the Tanana River and a bridge across the Yukon downstream from Tanana. The Yukon would also be wider downstream from Tanana, with the additional water flowing into the Yukon from the Tanana, though there might be island-hopping opportunities on the Yukon west of Tanana.

In any case, as discussed upthread, the short-term plan is for a ferry crossing between Tanana village and the Tofty Road extension to the other side of the Yukon, so the village would not be SOL. The only way to connect Tanana and perhaps ultimately Nome to AK 2, without a new ferry or bridge crossing of the Yukon, would be a long road entirely north of the Yukon from the Dalton Highway, which already has a bridge across the Yukon.

[Grzrd]

This Feb. 13 article:

DOT Northern Region engineer Ryan Anderson said the road that would reach the Yukon River on the opposite bank from the City of Tanana is nearly ready for construction ....
the 26-mile road extending from the end of the Tofty Road off of the Elliott Highway would provide direct winter access to the community via an ice bridge and summer access via ferry, Anderson said.

Doesn't seem particularly helpful to have a road ending on the south side of the Yukon when Tanana is on the north...

... as discussed upthread, the short-term plan is for a ferry crossing between Tanana village and the Tofty Road extension to the other side of the Yukon, so the village would not be SOL. The only way to connect Tanana and perhaps ultimately Nome to AK 2, without a new ferry or bridge crossing of the Yukon, would be a long road entirely north of the Yukon from the Dalton Highway, which already has a bridge across the Yukon.

The December 2011 Western Alaska Access Planning Study Corridor Staging and Alternatives Report indicates that the bridge to Tanana would be built either as a stand-alone project or as part of the construction of the Tanana-to-Ruby section on the north bank (p. 23/67 of pdf; p. 13 of document):

The initial Manley Hot Springs to Tanana segment may not include construction of a bridge over the Yukon River. This major bridge is something that could be completed at a later date as a stand-alone project or within a separate stage. The bridge could be removed from this stage as a means of reducing costs and because alternatives to a bridge, such as a ferry, barge, and/or ice crossings of the Yukon River, could be used in the interim until traffic levels justify a bridge. Examples of where a ferry system has been used in lieu of a bridge can be found in Canada along the Dempster Highway at Fort McPherson and near Dawson City at a crossing of the Yukon River. A logical point to construct the bridge would be during Stage 3 of the corridor when the road is extended from Tanana west toward Ruby.

Here is a snip from a staging map showing the Stage 1/ Stage 3 route from Manley Hot Springs to Tanana to Ruby (p. 20/67 of pdf):