State scheduled Dalton Highway closures near Mile 7.5 Thursday night for a load recovery

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities scheduled intermittent closures on the Dalton Highway near Mile 7.5 from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm Thursday for a load recovery, according to Alaska 511. Flaggers were assigned to support the recovery, and the closures affected traffic in both directions.

The department asked motorists to travel with caution through the area.

Mile 7.5 is near the southern start of the Dalton, about 7 miles north of where it leaves the Elliott Highway near Livengood. From there the highway runs 414 miles to Deadhorse and the North Slope oil fields. It was built to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and heavy industrial truck traffic dominates it, according to a DOT&PF report to the Legislature.

A few miles south, between mile markers 3 and 6, the Dalton was scheduled to close completely Sept. 22 for a culvert replacement, Alaska News reported.