The new Richardson Highway bridge takes shape at Mile 346

The new bridge is taking shape at Richardson Highway Milepost 346. A crane crew set the last four girders Thursday, putting the spans in place across one of the most important freight crossings in Interior Alaska.

The project replaces two bridges built by a federal agency in 1977 where the Richardson crosses the Chena Flood Control system — the levees and channels thrown up after the 1967 Fairbanks flood, a 300-year event that killed six people and did more than $85 million in damage. The old bridges don't meet current Alaska seismic or hydraulic standards, and by late 2023 the state had to load-post both at 80 tons.

That posting is why this bridge matters beyond Fairbanks. The Richardson links Interior Alaska to the Port of Valdez and to Canada, and heavy permitted loads that can't cross now have to detour off the highway onto the flood-control bypass. The replacement is built to end that detour.

Girders up doesn't mean the work zone loosens. Crews are running day and night, six days a week, with reduced lanes midday and pilot-car flagging on Tuesday and Thursday nights through August. Demolition of the old northbound bridge won't start until 2027.