Alaska DOT&PF is the state agency that builds and maintains highways, airports, harbors and ferries statewide. It oversees road construction, airport operations, harbor facilities and the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry service as part of the State of Alaska.
Photo by Paxson Woelber, via Flickr · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
dot.alaska.gov ↗Alaska
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Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
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Week of Jun 29
Nome Airport Crossing Permit
A dull state permit reveals something distinctly Alaskan: a Nome resident wants to taxi his plane from his own yard onto the airport — the kind of access rural life runs on.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
At America's northernmost airport, the fuel is Iñupiat-owned
A dull fuel-lease notice at Utqiaġvik's airport hides a good story: the company keeping the northernmost airport supplied is an original ASRC business, built to serve the Iñupiat.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — Alaska's lifeline to the Aleutians
Alaska's about to spend nearly $350 million to replace one ferry — the 60-year-old Tustumena. A genuine Aleutian lifeline, but the low bid went to a Louisiana yard.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Nome is becoming America's first deepwater port in the Arctic
After nearly 20 years, work is underway to make Nome the first deepwater port in the American Arctic — a ~$600M project deep enough for Coast Guard icebreakers.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage's airport is finally expanding its parking
Relief may be coming for one of Anchorage's everyday headaches: the airport is expanding its overflow parking lot, with the work due done by mid-November.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 22
Richardson Highway off-ramp to Mitchell Expressway closes Saturday
Alaska DOT closes the Richardson Highway off-ramp to Mitchell Expressway on Saturday for routine maintenance.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Mountain Village airport gets federally funded snow removal building
Alaska is replacing Mountain Village Airport's snow removal building with a 5 to 10 million dollar federally funded project to keep the runway clear through winter.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
The state wants this gravel pit to be permanent.
The state wants to make a Richardson Highway gravel pit permanent — and this 22-day comment window is the public's only formal say over how it's run, now and indefinitely.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A 50-year airport lease, and the federal funding line behind it
A bush-plane lease at Anchorage's airport runs exactly 50 years — not 51 — because FAA rules say a longer one could cost the airport its federal funding.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Guardrail repairs close a Glenn Highway lane toward Anchorage Thursday
Crews are fixing broken guardrail and fencing on the Glenn, so the right Anchorage-bound lane is closed till 4:30 PM Thursday. Boring, until you need that rail.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska Moves to Keep One of the World's Last Fire Outposts
Alaska wants to keep the McGrath Fire Base — one of the last forward firefighting outposts on Earth, guarding 66 million roadless acres with a crew that's mostly temps.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
One Floodplain Study Stands Between Fairbanks and a Finished River Walk
Fairbanks is one riverside stretch from a downtown-to-University trail — but that last piece sits in the floodplain, so engineers have to prove it won't flood the neighbors first.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Kotzebue's backup runway is closing for construction, starting at night
In a roadless region the airport is the road. Kotzebue's bad-weather backup runway is closing for construction — nights first, then around the clock.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
$2.2 million in federal trail money will fund 15 Alaska projects
Alaska handed trail money to its highway department, rebranded it ATLAS, and split $2.2M across 15 projects, from a new snow groomer to an Iditarod bridge.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 15
A new Mat-Su road would cross the ground its drinking water comes from
The Mat-Su drinks only groundwater — and keeps building over it. A new road would cross two drinking-water zones near a creek with a known PFAS problem.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska banned billboards. Every election, candidates test whether the law means them too.
Sign, sign, everywhere, a sign. Blockin' out the scenery. Breakin' my mind
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Coming up
Northern Region FFY27 NHS Interstate Highway Preventative Maintenance and Repair – Public Comment Deadline
Public notice
Written comments due: ADA-72915 Proposal to Permit Use of State Airport Land at Stebbins Airport
Public notice
Written comments due: ADA-72180 Proposal to Extend a State Airport Land Lease at Kotzebue Airport
Public notice
Parks Highway MP 303-306 Rehabilitation Public Open House
Public notice
Nordale Road/Peede Road Roundabout Public Open House
Public notice
About Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
Photo by Paxson Woelber, via Flickr · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
dot.alaska.gov ↗Alaska
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is the State of Alaska agency that builds and maintains highways, airports, harbors and ferries. It runs the Alaska Marine Highway System and oversees road construction and rural airports across the state.
The department schedules highway closures and construction, leases airport land, and draws federal highway and aviation grants for projects from Nome to Haines. It puts a statewide transportation plan out for public comment and sources rock and gravel from state pits.
Its plans meet scrutiny from local planners, as when Anchorage disputes the grant figures in a draft. Road and ferry links for remote communities, such as the King Cove road and a ferry to Unalaska, raise recurring questions, and federal highway money helps pay to operate the Whittier tunnel.
More from Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
Sag River nears bankfull, threatening Dalton Highway washout
Sagavanirktok River near bankfull on North Slope threatens Dalton Highway washouts between mileposts 310 and 340 through Thursday afternoon, with ice-blocked culverts posing particular risk to the primary road serving oil fields and communities.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly will vote June 23 on $214,684 for a pedestrian safety campaign
Anchorage is getting $214K in federal money for pedestrian safety outreach. The city's pedestrian fatality numbers say, maybe it's overdue?
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Alaska DOT&PF Awards $2.2M to 15 Trail Projects Statewide
Trail fail? No. Trail $2m bail out.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Archangel Road opens for summer access to Reed Lakes
Archangel Road in Hatcher Pass opened for summer, restoring vehicle access to Reed Lakes Trailhead and alpine hiking. Expect rough unpaved conditions, limited parking, and weekend crowds.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Parks Highway blasting, 24-hour pilot cars through Nenana Canyon
Alaska Department of Transportation is blasting rock cuts and running 24-hour pilot cars on Parks Highway between Nenana Canyon mileposts 319 and 325, creating extended delays on the main Anchorage-Fairbanks route.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Week of Jun 8
Talkeetna Airport bicycle shop seeks five-year lease extension
Hailey DeReamer is seeking a five-year lease extension for her bicycle shop at Talkeetna State Airport, paying about $250 a month for the 17,217-square-foot parcel that serves climbers and flightseeing tourists.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
FAA adds navigation aids to Chefornak Airport under 18-year lease
The FAA is installing weather and navigation systems at Chefornak Airport in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta under an 18-year lease extension through 2044 at no cost to the state.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Anchorage programs Fairview Bypass into 2052 plan at $220M
Anchorage added the Fairview Bypass to its 2052 transportation plan at $220.5 million across four phases, but the state faces a $150 million short-term budget shortfall and whether the project gets built remains uncertain.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
Anchorage transit plan adds $684M in routes, microtransit zones through 2052
Anchorage's transit plan adds bus rapid transit, microtransit zones, and free fares for seniors and veterans through 2052. • The $684 million package depends entirely on projected revenue materializing over 26 years. • State funding faces a $150 million short-term deficit competing against other Alaska priorities.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min readFrom 
Alaska DOT programs Fairview Bypass into 2052 plan at $220M
Alaska DOT programmed the Fairview Bypass into its long-range transportation plan at $220.5 million across four phases, with construction stages starting at $60 million for a regional connection near Merrill Field.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
Week of Jun 1
Denali Highway bridge inspections close lanes through Wednesday
Alaska DOT&PF will close lanes on the Denali Highway at two bridges Tuesday through Thursday for routine federal safety inspections, causing delays up to 60 minutes at each site.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
DOT proposes 20-year FAA deals at three rural airports, no rent
You know what they say, everything good in this life is free
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
Bering Air seeks Nome and Unalakleet lease updates — at the same airports the NTSB is investigating
Bering Air is seeking lease extensions at Nome and Unalakleet airports while the NTSB investigates the February 2025 crash of Flight 445 that killed 10 people, citing overweight aircraft as a major factor.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Deadhorse Airport project halted by weather, nears drainage milestone
Deadhorse Airport's drainage and runway project pauses May 29 to June 4 for weather, with crews nearing completion of insulation board work before fill continues on the North Slope airfield serving Prudhoe Bay oil operations.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Week of May 25
State offers FAA two decades of free land at Allakaket Airport
Alaska DOT is offering the FAA 20 years of free land at Allakaket Airport for navigation equipment, locking out state revenue and limiting the village's ability to expand or reconfigure the runway through 2046.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read
DOT seeks rural input on statewide transportation planning process
Alaska DOT is updating how rural communities shape statewide transportation planning and seeking input through June 7, but has received only eight rural responses to its survey so far.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
State confirms narrow lanes, pilot-car delays on Seward Highway through summer
Alaska Department of Transportation is narrowing lanes and running pilot-car escorts on the Seward Highway between milepost 25.5 and 36 through summer to rehabilitate a 10.5-mile segment near Kenai Lake and Moose Pass.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Alaska DOT restricts truck weights on Central Region roads starting June 1
Alaska DOT limits truck weights on Central Region roads starting June 1 to protect roads during spring thaw. Most paved roads restricted to 75 percent of legal axle load, gravel roads to 50 percent. Six roads face strictest limits at 50 percent with no overloads allowed.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Glenn Highway bridge closure forces Birchwood detour through June 2
Glenn Highway northbound bridge closed April 18 for 45 days. All traffic uses southbound span with 11-foot lanes and 45 MPH limit through June 2. • Birchwood Loop on-ramp closed. Detour via Old Glenn Highway to next entrance. • 20 to 30 million dollar project covers bridge deck repair. Completion August 2026. • Lane configuration shifts daily by time to manage peak commuter flows.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Assembly transfers nine riverfront parcels to state for erosion control
Alaska borough transfers nine riverfront parcels to the state to build erosion barriers before the Matanuska River threatens the highway.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Week of May 18
Alaska DOT faces continued budget shortfall despite partial restoration
Alaska DOT gets only half of $5 million budget restored for next fiscal year, leaving shortfalls in equipment, utilities, and energy costs. • Department will keep cost controls in place and monitor spending to protect maintenance services. • Capital budget and federal matching funds were fully approved for fiscal year 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Chiniak Highway hit with 50% weight limit, toughest in Kodiak area
Chiniak Highway gets Kodiak's toughest seasonal weight limit starting Monday, cutting trucks to half their legal load on a six-mile stretch.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min readDeadhorse Airport fence project reaches 3,500 feet of installation
Crews installed 3,500 feet of fence at Deadhorse Airport. • Work continues on 24 Northern Region road and bridge projects. • Travelers should check 511 for ongoing construction delays.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago4 min read