Infrastructure

Cordova's only ATV trail gets fixed, once the ground freezes

Cordova's only managed ATV trail is eroding into the river, and the repair cannot start until the ground freezes solid for five straight days.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Rezanof Drive closes nightly in downtown Kodiak through September

Rezanof Drive closes nightly through the end of September in downtown Kodiak, and the state hasn't said what construction the closure is for.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage approves a bigger paved lot at the Basher Trailhead

Anchorage approved replacing the Basher Trailhead's 16-space gravel lot with a paved 52-space one, ending a year-long fight over its size.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage weighs paving and expanding the Basher Trailhead lot

Falling rock rerouted the Root Glacier trail, and helicopters are coming

Falling rock closed the main Root Glacier trail in July. The reroute is still in place, it runs across talus, and the park wants you in traction devices.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Students wait for the bus on the shoulder of Rabbit Creek Road

Kids wait for school buses on the shoulder of Rabbit Creek Road, where traffic runs 52 in a 45. The state is studying whether to build them a path.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Jul 1

Wasilla council commits to planning a regional dispatch center outside city limits

Wasilla agreed to help plan moving its emergency dispatch center out of town. The reason for the hurry is a fire station going up on Bogard Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla weighs $569,600 for round-the-clock Fire/EMS dispatch at MatCom

Wasilla council pulls airport master plan from introduction, delays public hearing

Wasilla's council postponed but didn't drop a plan to nearly double its airport runway, from 3,700 feet toward 6,000, at an estimated $279 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla weighs a plan to nearly double its airport runway

Unalaska awarded its harbor contract before the sea otter permit was final

Unalaska signed a $21.9 million harbor contract. The permit allowing the work to disturb sea otters is still a draft, and comment closed after the vote.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

A road crew wants to camp in a gravel pit while it fixes the Elliott Highway

A contractor fixing 12 miles of the Elliott Highway wants to park 20 people in RVs on state gravel while it works. Comment closes Sept. 28.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Water damage in the Kenai Senior Center overhang halts work and adds $45,000

Contractors reroofing the Kenai Senior Center entry found rot underneath. Everything but the beams comes off, and the city needs $45,000 to finish.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Repairs begin on the Nome-Council Highway, four years after Merbok

Permanent repairs have begun on the Nome-Council Highway, four years after Typhoon Merbok breached the road in 2022.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kodiak's only bid to replace a key sewage station came in at twice the estimate

The only bid to replace the pump station handling 80% of Kodiak's sewage came in at $16.3 million — more than double the city's estimate of $7.2 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 10

Coast Guard awards $315 million for Kodiak fuel pier, and comment on the review closes Sept. 16

The Coast Guard has awarded $315 million to Tutor Perini for a new fuel pier and major cutter mooring at Base Kodiak, competed with four offers and running to 2030. The draft environmental review of the project, including demolition of the existing pier, takes public comment only through Sept. 16.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in $10.6 million over, and the city is paying cash

Unalaska's harbor rebuild came in at nearly double the 2023 estimate. The city is paying the $10.6 million gap in cash and says it could not do it twice.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Idaho firm that already runs the Alcan port wins its $48,169 snow removal order

An Idaho firm won a $48,169 federal task order to plow the Alcan border port near Tok. The same company already holds a $1.16 million contract to run operations and maintenance at the port and the Fairbanks Federal Building.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Eight Unalaska roofs have failed, including the high school and water plant

Eight Unalaska roofs have failed or are failing, including the high school and the water plant. Fixing all 27 city roofs starts at $22 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 8

Bethel's water plant has been sending filter backwash onto open ground

Water flushed from Bethel's treatment filters has been running onto the tundra instead of into the sewer lagoon. The city does not say for how long.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

The Port of Alaska's terminal design contract is up 50 percent and rising again

The Port of Alaska's Terminal 1 design contract is up 50 percent from 2023. Every year I got to come back for more, the port director says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Downtown Wasilla would go one-way under an $83 million state program

Downtown Wasilla would go one-way under an $83 million state program. The construction contract is estimated at $50 million to $60 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Unalaska council awards $21.9 million contract to replace Storrs Harbor floats

Unalaska is spending $22 million on new harbor floats. The acting city manager says the harbor may have to close before long if it does not.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Unalaska will spend $200,000 deciding what to do about its pool

Unalaska's 40-year-old pool has failing systems and a leaking roof. The city is paying $200,000 to find out whether to fix it, rebuild it or move it.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 8

Anchorage's port cargo surcharge nearly triples to fund a rebuild

The surcharge on cargo through Anchorage's port nearly triples Jan. 1, the first step in paying for a $2 billion rebuild, and could hit $70 a ton by 2033.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The refuge at the top of the Alaska Highway is getting exhibits built for blind visitors

The first wildlife refuge most people see driving into Alaska is getting exhibits built for visitors who cannot see them. Taxidermy included.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Port Alsworth visitor center gets new parking, trail on former tank farm site

Once there was a fuel tank farm, now there's a parking area and 500 feet of new deer Trail in Lake Clark, national Park and preserve.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kodiak assembly weighs $3.85 million grant to replace failing hospital chiller

A failing chiller that supports sterilization at Kodiak's hospital is running at 35 percent, and the borough votes Wednesday on a nearly $4 million replacement.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kenai's airport expects to reopen its main runway around Sept. 21

Kenai's airport expects to move flights back onto its rebuilt main runway around Sept. 21, ending four months of landing planes on a taxiway.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Wasilla weighs a plan to nearly double its airport runway

Wasilla wants to nearly double its airport runway in a $279 million, 20-year plan — a bid to serve bigger planes as the Mat-Su Valley keeps growing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Aleut Ventures opens Frosty Fuels crew and fueling facility at Cold Bay Airport

Aleut Ventures opened a crew facility at Cold Bay Airport this September, adding lodging and ground support as part of a $1.25 million investment in North Pacific aviation infrastructure.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Unalaska wants $5 million to pave the road serving America's busiest fishing port

The country's largest fishing port by poundage is served by a gravel road. Paving it is now Unalaska's top request of Congress, at $5 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Feb 10

Unalaska makes its failing airport terminal a top funding priority

Unalaska made a failing airport terminal its top request for state money next year, moving it from last on the list to first.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Feb 10

Federal record rates Ketchikan's Water Street viaduct 'Poor'

The Water Street viaduct in downtown Ketchikan, carrying 14,000 vehicles a day, is rated poor, but the state is funding only repairs, not replacement.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Oct 15, 2025

Follows: Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's aging viaducts, part of a plan to repair them now and replace them later

Ketchikan borough seeks proposals for Herring Cove neighborhood plan

Ketchikan borough voted to hire a planning firm for Herring Cove, where 55,000 to 60,000 annual visitors overwhelm a site with no sidewalks, restrooms, or bear-proof trash bins.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Cordova weighs an $870,000 electrified bear fence for its landfill

Cordova is spending as much as $870,000 to keep bears out of its landfill. A resident says the cattle guards in the design are made for cows.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage weighs paving and expanding the Basher Trailhead lot

Anchorage would pave and expand the 16-car Basher Trailhead lot to 52 spaces. Staff back it but warn it could draw more cars if parking isn't priced.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Juneau board to hear flood update as barrier upkeep costs climb

Juneau's Utility Advisory Board gets an update Thursday on last month's glacial flood, which damaged 12 homes, as barrier upkeep costs climb.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

AT&T's parking lot at the Anchorage port could stay until 2041

AT&T's parking and storage yard at the Anchorage port could stay through 2041, though rent has only been set for the first five of those 15 years.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kodiak is replacing hospital power switches nobody makes parts for anymore

Kodiak is replacing four 27-year-old power switches at the hospital that no longer have available parts, spending $151,155 on design work before construction begins.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The roof went on wrong at Bethel's gym expansion and has to come off

The roof and walls went on wrong at Bethel's gym expansion. They come back off at no cost to the city, and nobody has set a new completion date.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kenai beautification panel floats $700,000 tennis and pickleball court rebuild

Rebuilding Kenai High's tennis courts into two tennis and four pickleball courts would run about $700,000, the parks director told a commission.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Wasilla's legislative ask leads with $10 million aviation training center at city airport

Wasilla asks state and federal lawmakers for $10 million to build an aviation training center at the city airport, leading a capital priorities list the Planning Commission reviews Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read