Repairs begin on the Nome-Council Highway, four years after Merbok

Permanent repairs have finally begun on the Nome-Council Highway, four years after Typhoon Merbok breached the road.

A contractor has started hauling material to three damaged stretches and is expected to work seven days a week, with pilot cars guiding traffic through a single lane, the state transportation department said this week. The road connects Nome to Council and serves residents and property owners along Safety Sound.

Merbok hit the road hard in 2022. The state called it "completely impassable" at the time, with roughly 30 miles knocked out of service, including a stretch breached by the ocean. Crews hauled more than 100,000 tons of material for emergency repairs that fall just to restore basic access.

The permanent fixes now underway are backed by about $2.4 million in federal money across the three segments, part of roughly $6.5 million in total repairs to the road and Nome's Front Street. The storm damaged about 40 communities along 1,300 miles of Alaska coastline.