Infrastructure
RSSAlaska News tracks infrastructure projects across Alaska, including transportation, utilities, water systems, and public facilities planning and development.
Senate bill would fast-track Army Corps engineering for Juneau's glacial flooding
A Senate bill would let the Army Corps of Engineers skip study steps and move straight to designing a permanent fix for Juneau's glacial lake flooding, which threatens nearly 1,900 homes each summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Kodiak plans September DC lobbying trip as defense program bid fails again
Kodiak's defense infrastructure program bid failed again, but the borough and city are planning a joint September lobbying trip to pursue $150 billion in federal energy and defense funding.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Senate panel advances water bill with Alaska Native village sanitation, Nome port, and Juneau flood provisions
Senate panel approved a water bill directing $60 million yearly to Alaska Native village sanitation and fast-tracking Juneau's glacial flood response.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Fairbanks riverwalk gap closure gets commission review next week
Fairbanks commission reviews Phase III of Chena Riverwalk on July 22, a trail segment to close a gap near Pioneer Park, after city council opposed the current design as too expensive.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
North Slope Borough approves $5M water and sewer increase after Point Lay freeze-up
North Slope Borough approved a $5 million increase to its water and sewer contract Monday after a village-wide freeze-up in Point Lay that has lasted since December 2025.
by Lucas Brown2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage's landfill needs $1.9 million in new heavy equipment
Can you believe it equipment gets old! Womp Womp
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A tiny Alaska post office runs out of a cabin, and the state wants to keep it
Skwentna's post office runs out of a private cabin at a fly-in airport, and the state just moved to renew the lease keeping it open.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Ketchikan's fishing fleet is stuck without showers in peak season
A collapsed drain pipe left Ketchikan's fishing fleet without public showers during peak season — and nobody's even opened the floor yet. One fisherman gave the harbor board an earful.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A shifting wall threatens Bethel's freight lifeline
A sheet pile wall at Bethel's port is shifting, and the Corps wants an engineering fix — a worry for the roadless Y-K Delta's only real freight lifeline.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly set to vote July 21 on nearly $3M landfill tipping building contract
Anchorage Assembly votes July 21 on a $2.99 million contract to replace the 40-year-old public tipping building at the Eagle River landfill, with work to finish in 180 days.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Environmental groups rally against a wave of proposed Alaska data centers
Two Alaska environmental groups are rallying in Fairbanks against a wave of proposed data centers — and the lack of any statewide rules for them.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Steel and pilings shrink Juneau's Oak Landing to a third its size
Steel doubled and the ground needs 100-foot pilings, so Juneau's Oak Landing is shrinking to a third its size — but the welcome center, shops and seawalk survive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A glacier-dammed lake is emptying into the Salmon River near Hyder
A glacier-dammed lake above Hyder is draining out the bottom of the Salmon Glacier, swelling the Salmon River and threatening the Premier road — like it has almost every summer since 1961.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
A gravel permit for the pipeline, and a question about what Alyeska pays
A routine permit lets Alyeska pull gravel from the Sag floodplain for pipeline upkeep — but not what the private pipeline giant pays the public for it. A senator's been asking.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's first big AI data center clears a hurdle on the North Slope
A company wants to burn North Slope gas on-site to run AI computing near Deadhorse — turning 50 years of stranded gas into power, if the financing, customers and gas contract ever show up.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau may spend its last prime waterfront lot on a bathroom
Juneau's last prime chunk of downtown waterfront might become… a public restroom and a covered spot to stand. At least one Assembly member is asking if that's really the best use.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Bethel lands $3.4M for water — and won't pay most of it back
Bethel's picking up $3.38M in state water loans that get fully forgiven once spent — a near-free upgrade for a town where plenty of people still haul their own water.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Air Force opens bidding to lease 4,400 acres at Eielson for private development
Air Force is leasing 4,400 acres at Eielson to a private developer for up to 50 years, with proposals due August 10. The developer covers all costs and environmental cleanup on contaminated sites.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau airport board votes July 9 on $50,697 local match for tower roof grant
Juneau airport board votes July 9 on spending $50,697 from reserves to match a $963,247 federal grant for replacing the air traffic control tower roof.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Wasilla's sewer plan is 25 years old — and it's stalling development
Wasilla's sewer master plan hasn't been touched since 1999, and the gap is already slowing new housing — now the city may take $75K in state money to finally update it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Juneau's tower grant comes with a catch: it drains the airport's savings
The FAA will cover most of the $1M fix for Juneau's 1987-era control tower — but the airport's small share would drain nearly half its already-thin savings.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Juneau's dangerous Egan Drive left turn is finally getting a signal
A $12.15M federal grant will finally put a signal at Juneau's Egan-Yandukin intersection, where left-turners cross highway traffic blind and pedestrians can't cross safely.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
For a roadless village, an airport lease is really about the lifeline
For roadless Chefornak, the airport is the only way in or out — so a routine state lease keeping the FAA's weather and navigation gear running matters more than it sounds.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
King Cove finally gets its road, and the lawsuits are still coming
King Cove's long-fought road to the Cold Bay airport has its final federal permit, with construction due in 30 days. Three lawsuits over the refuge land swap are still pending.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
A tribal housing authority wants to build 40 affordable homes on wetlands
A tribal housing authority wants to build 40 affordable homes in Southeast — but first it has to fill 4 acres of wetlands, and the state review of that just opened for comment.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Kenai council funds $110K roof shortfall, sets Oct. 31 deadline for Senior Center and shelter work
Kenai City Council approved $110,000 Tuesday to fix roofs at the senior center and animal shelter by Oct. 31 after a bid came in higher than expected.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Anchorage won $191 million for the port that feeds Alaska
Anchorage won a record $191M from the federal government, all of it going to rebuild the port that brings in 90% of Alaska's food and fuel — and to keep those costs off Alaskans' bills.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Noatak Airport relocation triggers water quality review as river erodes toward runway
River erosion is forcing Noatak to relocate its airport, and the Army Corps of Engineers opened a water quality review that must clear before construction can start on a new site 1.5 miles west.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska doubles bulk fuel loan cap to $1.5 million for rural communities
Alaska doubled the bulk fuel loan cap to $1.5 million for rural communities starting July 3, helping villages and fuel retailers cover winter heating oil purchases before customer payments arrive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Deadhorse Airport paving set for mid-July after holiday pause
Deadhorse Airport paving is set for mid-July as crews work through the Arctic construction season to fix aging pavement and drainage that support North Slope oil and gas operations.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Federal settlement sends $180 million to Port of Alaska modernization
Federal settlement sends $180 million to the Port of Alaska's $2.7 billion modernization program, reducing pressure for tariff increases that could raise fuel and grocery prices statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Rockslide blocks both lanes of North Tongass Hwy near Ward Cove
A rockslide blocked both lanes of North Tongass Highway near Ward Cove on Tuesday morning, cutting the only paved road connecting North Tongass communities to Ketchikan.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Kodiak council to consider $1.2M ice rink roof contract, drawing from two parks funds
Kodiak City Council votes Thursday on a $1.2 million ice rink roof contract that exceeds budget by $644,000, requiring transfers from two other parks projects to fund the work.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
On the roadless North Slope, the villages' winter road is made of snow
On the roadless North Slope, a snow trail is how cut-off villages get winter fuel. A Native-owned company builds it — across fragile tundra and caribou country.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
A new power line is proposed through a historic Delta park
A utility wants to run a new power line through Big Delta State Historical Park to reach a nearby boat launch — open for public comment through July 31.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A washout severs a Delta Junction road — again
A washout closed Cummings Road in Delta Junction, cutting off a stretch residents partly maintain themselves — the kind of weather hit Interior roads keep taking.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Kipnuk is being pieced back together, one boardwalk at a time
Alaska closes its federal disaster recovery updates as Typhoon Halong rebuilding continues in Kipnuk, with over 12,000 feet of boardwalk restored but federal funding delays still slowing the work.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A landslide has closed the Dalton Highway, the main road to the North Slope
A rain-triggered landslide closed the Dalton Highway north of Coldfoot on Monday — blocking the main road to the North Slope and the freight bound for the oil fields.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A new tower roof could eat half of Juneau airport's reserve, as pilots push for more
Juneau's airport board may spend nearly half its small reserve on a new tower roof — as 50+ pilots dispute a master plan that claims no unmet demand for fuel.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
The road rebuild behind Spenard's makeover
Anchorage is planning to rebuild Chugach Way — the road running through the heart of Spenard's revival, where old strip clubs and gas stations are becoming new housing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
