King Cove road materials arrive on scene as local workers hit another milestone in the development of a contested project

A barge carrying equipment and materials for the King Cove-Cold Bay Road has arrived in King Cove, a construction-prep milestone weeks after the state received the final federal permit for the long-disputed road.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said Friday the shipment supports stockpiling and preparation for work ahead. More than 20 King Cove residents completed safety training and earned department certificates in under five days, and five more are enrolled in a four-week course to earn commercial driver's licenses. The department did not say when construction will begin.

The project would connect King Cove with Cold Bay's all-weather airport, a route supporters have sought for decades for medical evacuations and reliable travel out of a community often cut off by weather. Alaska News reported in July that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the last federal permit needed for construction.

The road's route runs through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, and the permit didn't end the fight over it. Conservation groups have opposed the road for years as a damaging precedent for building through protected federal land, with litigation and environmental objections still unresolved. Supporters counter that the refuge's protection has come at the expense of King Cove residents' safety, leaving them dependent on risky air and sea evacuations when someone needs urgent medical care.