Dalton Highway repairs begin Wednesday, narrowing it to one lane

Permanent repairs to the Dalton Highway at Milepost 315.5 begin Wednesday, narrowing the North Slope's overland supply route to a single lane. Drivers in the area should expect around-the-clock flagging and delays of up to 20 minutes, the Alaska Department of Transportation said, with the work — covering drainage, embankment repairs and new surfacing — expected to wrap by Oct. 1.

The damage dates to the June 2025 flooding, when rapid spring melt along the Sagavanirktok River severed the highway and tore up the corridor for nearly 90 miles. At Milepost 315, floodwaters cut a gap 90 feet long and 30 feet deep in the roadbed, stranding freight carriers and disrupting fuel and equipment deliveries. Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a disaster declaration, which qualified the state for federal emergency relief funding to help cover the repairs.

The Dalton is the lifeline to the North Slope oil fields and the camps and communities along it, carrying fuel, equipment and freight north. Separately, delineator-replacement work continues elsewhere on the highway through Oct. 1, also with single-lane flagging in stretches.