State seeks bids for emergency rock work on Talkeetna Spur Road

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is seeking a contractor to armor Milepost 13.5 of the Talkeetna Spur Road against the Susitna River, the only highway connection to the community. The department's Central Region advertised the emergency contract Oct. 2, with sealed bids due by 2 pm Oct. 9. The engineer's estimate runs $2.5 million to $5 million.

All work except topsoil and seeding must be finished by Dec. 15, with the full project done by June 15, 2027. The invitation to bid describes the state-funded job as "near-term erosion protection."

"Talkeetna Spur Road serves as the only highway connection to the community, supporting residents, tourism, and emergency response," Borough Manager Mike Brown wrote in a July memo. The Greater Talkeetna Road Service Area board's August minutes place the threatened stretch at the south end of town, just north of the railroad tracks. Fire Chief Eric Chappel told the board of two alternatives if the road closes: Old Lake Road, usable for evacuation but limited to one lane in one direction at a time, and a "Depot" route that could carry two-way traffic once a 700-foot section is widened and paved.

A Talkeetna Sewer and Water Board staff report found that 37 feet of riverbank along the Spur's west side eroded in late July. "There is 16' of land left between the river and the mainline," supervisor Amanda Fleming wrote. The water main was shut off, cutting service to three customers, two of them permanently.

The Mat-Su Assembly declared a 180-day local disaster emergency July 21, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared the flooding a disaster four days later, according to the state emergency management division. The borough says it has made emergency revetment repairs nearly every year since 2017, with the most recent costing about $700,000.

Minutes from an August meeting with state agencies, kept by Talkeetna Community Council board member Kai Leddy, describe about four landowners facing imminent threat at a time when the state believed it could not act until the erosion reached its right-of-way. The department's short-term fix "might include a buried dyke with riprap," the minutes said.

A separate, permanent project for Mileposts 13 to 14 is programmed in the department's draft 2027-2030 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, with design and environmental review set for federal fiscal 2027 and construction for fiscal 2028. The project carries roughly $5 million in total funding, including federal money from the PROTECT resilience program. "Phase programming does not verify readiness," the draft cautions.

Comments on the draft program are due by 5 pm Oct. 29 at dot.alaska.gov/stip or [email protected].