Three years after Typhoon Merbok, Alaska's rebuild continues

Alaska's Department of Transportation and Public Facilities issued invitations to bid Tuesday for permanent reconstruction work on two rural corridors, both of them stories about communities still rebuilding from disasters rather than routine road maintenance.

The Nome-Council Highway, which connects Nome to the small community of Council on the Bering coast, sustained damage along multiple segments when Typhoon Merbok struck Western Alaska in mid-September 2022. The storm damaged dozens of coastal communities and triggered federal and state disaster declarations within days. The Federal Highway Administration released $9 million in "quick release" Emergency Relief funding to the state to begin reopening damaged roads, and FEMA later approved more than $100 million in disaster assistance for Alaska communities recovering from the storm.

DOT&PF reopened the Nome-Council Highway to traffic before freeze-up that fall using emergency repairs. The permanent reconstruction now going to bid covers three damaged segments — MP 4-5, MP 9-11, and MP 14.2-14.7 — and will resurface roadway and reshape roadside ditches to prevent future washouts. The department posted at least one segment for public comment in February 2025 ahead of design.

The Dalton Highway project targets Milepost 315.5, where breakup flooding on the upper corridor in June 2025 prompted an emergency closure and a state disaster declaration. DOT&PF reopened the road within days using emergency culvert work; the permanent repair now going to bid is the follow-on. The Dalton remains the only road link to Alaska's North Slope oil fields.

Bids on both projects are due before 2 p.m. local time on the dates listed in each invitation and will be publicly announced at that time.