Parks Highway drops to one lane at Nenana's Tanana River Bridge Aug. 18

Drivers on the Parks Highway will lose the right lane in both directions at the Tanana River Bridge in Nenana for three days starting Tuesday, Aug. 18. Traffic will be reduced to one lane between 7am and 6pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The restriction runs through 6 p.m. Aug. 20. Motorists should anticipate delays.

State crews will perform a routine inspection of the bridge, according to the Alaska 511 notice. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities inspects bridges on a 24-month cycle under the National Bridge Inspection Standards. The state maintains roughly 1,000 bridges on public roads and streets. The Tanana River Bridge sits at Milepost 305 and was included in a 2023 department notice on Northern Region bridge preventive maintenance.

The department asks motorists to stay alert for workers and equipment around the bridge and to drive patiently through the work zone.

A second inspection follows just south. Crews are scheduled to close the right lane at the Rex Bridge, also known as the Jack Coghill Bridge, daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 21 through Aug. 23.