AK-2 extension to Nome

[mcarling]

I'm not sure that this is current.  It is marked "preliminary".

[Grzrd]

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.

No mention of either a road or high-speed rail from Nome to Fairbanks and Anchorage, though ....
Here is the Corps' full draft report.

This October 26 article reports that the Corps is putting the Nome port expansion final report on a twelve-month hold because of "the changing economic picture of the Arctic":

A highly-anticipated study looking into a deep-draft Arctic port for Alaska is being shelved for at least a year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–due to what the Corps calls the changing economic picture of the Arctic.
Those changes all ripple out from Royal Dutch Shell and the company's decision in September but put its Arctic oil ambitions on indefinite hold.
The Corps of Engineers announced Monday a 12-month pause in the feasibility study for a deep draft Arctic port in Alaska. That study put an expansion of Nome's existing facility as the leading candidate for investment–with a projected price tag around $210 million.
Now, in the wake of what Shell calls "disappointing"  results for its oil search in the Chukchi Sea this summer, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant has suspended its Arctic operations "for the foreseeable future."  New lease sales (and the extension of existing ones, including Shell's) in the Arctic Ocean were recently canceled due to what federal officials called a lack of interest, further dampening oil and gas prospects for the Arctic.
The Army Corps said Shell's decision shifts the economics of Alaska's Arctic and "brings into question"  the core assumptions its Arctic port study was based on ....
Nome Mayor Richard Beneville said oil and gas is "part of the pie"  but insisted there's much more to a deep draft Arctic port. He says putting the project on hold isn't the end.
"What is important is that this whole project must be kept in the forefront, if you will, both with the governor and with our Congressional delegation,"  Beneville said.
"The Corps, that's just one entity. There are other entities involved,"  he continued. "There are other issues involved. It's not just about petroleum and Shell. It's about traffic through the Bering Strait. It's about the protection of the United States of America. It's about a lot of things other than oil." ....

At the very least, one possible justification for a road connecting Nome to the rest of the Alaskan road network is now questionable.

[vdeane]

Well, there's always Russia's proposal to build a superhighway from New York to London...

[mcarling]

Well, there's always Russia's proposal to build a superhighway from New York to London...

Via Alaska and Siberia?  That doesn't make any sense to me.  Goods can be shipped between New York and London faster and much cheaper by ship.  Generally people will not drive so far, choosing instead to fly, which is certainly safer and faster and probably cheaper.  A year ago, some parts of Russia's trans-Siberia road were still gravel, so a motorway is just silly.

[kkt]

No, via tunnel!  Read Harry Harrison's A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge will be the tricky part, but I'm sure it'll be cool to rebuild that section of the tunnel every year or so.

[english si]

Goods can be shipped between New York and London faster and much cheaper by ship.

Stop seeing end points as if the route doesn't have junctions in between.

The main point of it in Asia is to open up Siberia for business.
The main point of it in Europe is to err, I'm not sure. Most of it exists* and even if Russia stops invading countries like Georgia and Ukraine, the xenophobic EU will never trade freely with them.

Also bare in mind that 'superhighway' in Russia is different from 'motorway' or 'freeway'. Think of a partially-grade-separated two-lane road with a wide ROW for the Asian sections (the road formerly known as M-51 is already like this from Omsk to Chita, IIRC). Think 4-lane mostly-controlled-access mostly-grade-separated road for the European bit.

*quite a bit of Warsaw - Belarus, and Moscow - Urals, are subpar, and maybe some of Belarus - Moscow. While 20 miles at either end of the Belarusian section aren't full-on motorway, Russia will see them as adequate.

[US 41]

If AK-2 was extended west to Nome I don't think it would be necessary to build it as a modern state highway. I think a one and a half lane oil and gravel road would be more than sufficient. I hope they eventually build this highway. I think long term it would eventually help Alaska as far as jobs are concerned. They should just skip environmental studies altogether. It's Alaska. Just build the thing.

[mcarling]

The main point of it in Asia is to open up Siberia for business.
The main point of it in Europe is to err, I'm not sure. Most of it exists* and even if Russia stops invading countries like Georgia and Ukraine, the xenophobic EU will never trade freely with them.

I think the main point is to improve the connections between Siberia and european Russia, before the Chinese decide they want Siberia back.  The Russian leadership understands that the EU and US are not interested in grandiose super-highways (of any type) to nowhere.

quite a bit of Warsaw - Belarus, and Moscow - Urals, are subpar, and maybe some of Belarus - Moscow. While 20 miles at either end of the Belarusian section aren't full-on motorway, Russia will see them as adequate.

Just in Poland, for example, the section of DK2 from Kalyszyn (pronounced Kalushin) to the Belurus border at Terespol is a crappy two-lane undivided road with traffic lights.  The new government, elected a few days ago, is likely to raise the priority of building the A2 motorway from Kalyszyn to Siedice, but probably not further east than Siedice.

[Brandon]

Goods can be shipped between New York and London faster and much cheaper by ship.

Who ships goods between those points?  If a rail line is built, then end point would most likely be Chicago as that has been, is, and will be for the foreseeable future, the major rail hub of North America.  From there, they'd be dispersed to periphery end points like New York or Omaha.

[kkt]

Goods can be shipped between New York and London faster and much cheaper by ship.

Who ships goods between those points?  If a rail line is built, then end point would most likely be Chicago as that has been, is, and will be for the foreseeable future, the major rail hub of North America.  From there, they'd be dispersed to periphery end points like New York or Omaha.

I'm pretty sure there's a railroad or two that serves the port of NY-NJ.

[mcarling]

Goods can be shipped between New York and London faster and much cheaper by ship.

Who ships goods between those points?

Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping operate large container ships between Britain and NY/NJ, for example.  The ships are limited in size by the ports of NY/NJ and there are multiple journeys per week.  Anyway, I think we're off topic.  I don't ever expect to see the Bering Straits spanned by either a bridge or a tunnel.  Both sides are incredibly remote.

[Grzrd]

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

... The project's completion date is Dec. 15, 2015 ...

This December 6 article, which includes two photos of construction, reports that the project has suffered delays and that the new projected completion date is "early in summer 2016":

The new road toward the village of Tanana was supposed to be done by Dec. 15, 2015, but it won't meet that deadline because weather got in the way.
First, heavy rainfall in 2014 made for a soggy start to the project. In 2015, a wildfire blew through the construction site, forcing an evacuation.
The construction crew won't finish this year, but they are three miles from the planned terminus on the south bank of the Yukon River, according to Alaska Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey. They also need to make improvements to a bridge over Boulder Creek.
The plan is now to finish the project early in summer 2016.
"It's fairly minor things left to be done. We just ran out of time,"  she said.
The delays have made the project more expensive. It's now expected to cost $13.5 million, up from the $11 million estimate when construction began, Bailey said.
The new single lane gravel road is the first in about 20 years to connect a bush community to the state's highway network. But it's a tenuous connection. There are no plans to build a bridge between the village on the north bank of the Yukon and the end of the road, which will be about 6 miles upstream on the south bank. Nonetheless, the new road promises to make life cheaper for the 250 residents of Tanana. A 2014 legislative request document for the project estimated the new road will save Tanana $600,000 per year by moving more freight from pricey air freight to less-expensive road and river shipping ....

Here is a snip of an August 2015 construction photo that accompanies the article:





And in case you are thinking of racing out to the road to get a partial clinch:

Although most of the new road is completed, the finished part of the new road won't be open to drivers until the official opening next summer, Bailey said. That's because construction crew is using the road to stage equipment.

And in case you are thinking of driving the road next summer in order to visit Tanana, this December 7 article advises that you will need to either bring your own boat or make arrangements with someone in Tanana who has a boat:

Fortunately, the work remaining to be done on the road is relatively minor, but work can't be done until the area thaws out next spring, so drivers won't be able to use the road for private and commercial traffic until the summer. Even then, those seeking to access Tanana via the road will need to either bring a boat of their own or arrange with someone in the community who has one, as the road terminates on the south bank of the Yukon River and the town is located on the north bank.

[Alps]

I foresee a ferry service operating starting sometime before fall 2016.

[mcarling]

I foresee a ferry service operating starting sometime before fall 2016.

How much ferry traffic do you expect there would be to a community with 250 residents?

[oscar]

I foresee a ferry service operating starting sometime before fall 2016.

How much ferry traffic do you expect there would be to a community with 250 residents?

Not enough to support even the smallest vessel on the Alaska Marine Highway system. But maybe a small two-vehicle barge with a crew of one, operating on-demand rather than on a fixed schedule, could work there.

Something like the cable-guided Pelly Barge in Ross River YT, carrying less than three dozen vehicles a day in season:



BTW, that bridge in the background was pedestrian-only, but closed for safety reasons before my 2012 visit (but reopened in 2018). The bridge also carries an old oil pipeline, decommissioned about six decades ago.

[vdeane]

Fortunately, the work remaining to be done on the road is relatively minor, but work can't be done until the area thaws out next spring, so drivers won't be able to use the road for private and commercial traffic until the summer. Even then, those seeking to access Tanana via the road will need to either bring a boat of their own or arrange with someone in the community who has one, as the road terminates on the south bank of the Yukon River and the town is located on the north bank.

So they're spending all that money on a road and people will still have to get to Tanana like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzMUg_LhKCQ

[US 41]

I notice that in the Rand McNally it shows AK 2 ending across the river from Tanana as an unpaved road. It also shows Tanana being the place where two trails intersect. One runs west from Tanana to Kokrines and Ruby before turning into an unpaved road that goes south to Long and Poorman. The Winter Trail on the other hand runs north out of Tanana to Allakaket and Bettles. What exactly are these trails? Can you drive on them or are they for sled dogs?

[oscar]

I notice that in the Rand McNally it shows AK 2 ending across the river from Tanana as an unpaved road. It also shows Tanana being the place where two trails intersect. One runs west from Tanana to Kokrines and Ruby before turning into an unpaved road that goes south to Long and Poorman. The Winter Trail on the other hand runs north out of Tanana to Allakaket and Bettles. What exactly are these trails? Can you drive on them or are they for sled dogs?

My copy of the 2016 RMcN shows only a winter trail from AK 2 to the Yukon River shore across from Tanana, and does not identify the trail (or the "pioneer road" being built to replace it) as part of AK 2. The state's official numbered route definitions (most recently updated in August of this year) still have AK 2 following the Elliott Highway into and through Manley Hot Springs, ending at the village's boat launch on the Tanana River (well upstream from Tanana village), which is several miles southwest of the Tofty Rd. turnoff to the u/c road to Tanana.

As I mentioned toward the beginning of this thread, we should not assume (never mind the thread title) that the road to Tanana, and perhaps ultimately beyond Tanana toward Nome, will ever be part of AK 2, or even that it will be given any other route number. Many long and major roads in Alaska, including the large three-spoke highway network around Nome, don't have route numbers other than the six-digit internal inventory number assigned to every non-Federal road-like facility in the state.

Winter trails typically are impassible in other seasons, but some of them may be drive-able in the winter, at least on ATVs which are common in western Alaska. I don't know specifically about the roads or trails in the Tanana area.

[The Ghostbuster]

How many think getting the road all the way to Nome is a pipe dream, and/or something that will not happen for a very long time?

[kkt]

How many think getting the road all the way to Nome is a pipe dream, and/or something that will not happen for a very long time?

Is this a poll?  Yes, barring some major exploitable resource being discovered along the way.

[The Ghostbuster]

No poll, just a question on whether anyone thinks the roadway will ever reach Nome.

[oscar]

The state is a little short on money due to the fall in oil prices. The Governor is proposing a state income tax (there is none now),among other things, to address the resulting fiscal crisis.

Like kkt, I think any extension of the highway west of Tanana will probably wait for a really good reason to build it, preferably one where the highway would essentially pay for itself. A big gold discovery would help.

[ARMOURERERIC]

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

... The project's completion date is Dec. 15, 2015 ...

This December 6 article, which includes two photos of construction, reports that the project has suffered delays and that the new projected completion date is "early in summer 2016":

The new road toward the village of Tanana was supposed to be done by Dec. 15, 2015, but it won't meet that deadline because weather got in the way.
First, heavy rainfall in 2014 made for a soggy start to the project. In 2015, a wildfire blew through the construction site, forcing an evacuation.
The construction crew won't finish this year, but they are three miles from the planned terminus on the south bank of the Yukon River, according to Alaska Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey. They also need to make improvements to a bridge over Boulder Creek.
The plan is now to finish the project early in summer 2016.
"It's fairly minor things left to be done. We just ran out of time,"  she said.
The delays have made the project more expensive. It's now expected to cost $13.5 million, up from the $11 million estimate when construction began, Bailey said.
The new single lane gravel road is the first in about 20 years to connect a bush community to the state's highway network. But it's a tenuous connection. There are no plans to build a bridge between the village on the north bank of the Yukon and the end of the road, which will be about 6 miles upstream on the south bank. Nonetheless, the new road promises to make life cheaper for the 250 residents of Tanana. A 2014 legislative request document for the project estimated the new road will save Tanana $600,000 per year by moving more freight from pricey air freight to less-expensive road and river shipping ....

Here is a snip of an August 2015 construction photo that accompanies the article:





And in case you are thinking of racing out to the road to get a partial clinch:

Although most of the new road is completed, the finished part of the new road won't be open to drivers until the official opening next summer, Bailey said. That's because construction crew is using the road to stage equipment.

And in case you are thinking of driving the road next summer in order to visit Tanana, this December 7 article advises that you will need to either bring your own boat or make arrangements with someone in Tanana who has a boat:

Fortunately, the work remaining to be done on the road is relatively minor, but work can't be done until the area thaws out next spring, so drivers won't be able to use the road for private and commercial traffic until the summer. Even then, those seeking to access Tanana via the road will need to either bring a boat of their own or arrange with someone in the community who has one, as the road terminates on the south bank of the Yukon River and the town is located on the north bank.

Such a shame this is in Alaska, man that picture just screams "subdivide me!"

[Duke87]

I think any extension of the highway west of Tanana will probably wait for a really good reason to build it

Or Russia paying for it.

[kkt]

I think any extension of the highway west of Tanana will probably wait for a really good reason to build it

Or Russia paying for it.

That would be a really good reason