State closes Dalton Highway over Atigun Pass due to high avalanche activity

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities closed the Dalton Highway over Atigun Pass at 5 pm Saturday because of high avalanche activity. Gates at mile 239 and mile 250 were shut, according to a National Weather Service Fairbanks storm report citing Alaska 511.

The gates and roadway were to stay closed overnight, the report said. Crews planned to assess conditions Sunday morning and reopen the road when it is safe for travel. No reopening time has been given.

The department reported high winds and snow over Atigun Pass, the high point of the Dalton Highway, with blowing and drifting snow and low visibility. Weather stations recorded a 37 mph gust at Atigun Pass at 2 pm and a 41 mph gust at Chandalar Shelf at 5 pm. Point Hope, also in the North Slope Borough, recorded a 56 mph gust Saturday afternoon.

The weather service's Fairbanks office forecast on Nov. 6 that southeast flow would bring snow chances back to the Interior this weekend, with around 1 to 2 inches on the Dalton Highway summits through Sunday afternoon.

Atigun Pass closures can last about 48 hours when avalanche conditions require crews to assess hazards and restore safe travel, DOT&PF Commissioner Ryan Anderson said in written testimony to a U.S. Senate committee in March.

The department uses trained maintenance crews, military artillery and other methods to reduce avalanche hazards on the highway. That planned avalanche-control work is announced through Alaska 511, and its delays typically last about 45 minutes, though longer delays are possible. Crews did that work between milepost 241 and milepost 245 on Oct. 23, bringing intermittent closures, and Alaska 511 posted another mitigation alert for the same stretch on Oct. 31.

The department's Dalton Highway page describes the road as a year-round transportation corridor and warns that severe weather and avalanches at Atigun Pass can strand travelers for days.

Drivers can check Alaska 511 Dalton conditions or call 511 before heading north.