Alaska News covers transportation issues including highway maintenance, transit planning, road closures, and infrastructure projects affecting Alaska.
Anchorage Assembly votes July 21 on $351,143 to count pedestrians and bikes on city roads and paths, combining federal money with local budget funds.

A disabled semi-truck is blocking the Parks Highway at Milepost 274, south of Clear Space Force Station, closing the road as of early Thursday. The Alaska 511 alert lists the closure as active through 1:33 AM UTC Friday, July 18.

A fish truck rolled on the Seward Highway late Friday, scattering its load and closing the road into town for hours — just as crowds arrived for the Fourth and Mount Marathon.
Alaska cold can freeze a diesel's emissions fluid and cut its power mid-job. EPA wants to stop the shutdowns before someone's stranded at 40 below.

Four Alaska ferries will be down for repairs this winter — one for five months after crews found corroded steel — thinning service for roadless towns that depend on it.
Alaska lifts spring weight limits on most Northern Region roads Friday, July 10, letting commercial haulers return to full legal loads, except Tofty Road into Tanana stays capped at 75 percent.
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.
One westbound lane of the Alaska Highway is closed at the Johnson River Bridge, about 42 miles south of Delta Junction, through Sunday evening. Expect single-lane traffic control.
Trump pardoned a Wasilla diesel mechanic who removed truck pollution controls — a cold-weather fix, Sullivan says; eroded clean-air enforcement, critics say.
A 45 mph limit is on between mileposts 14 and 16 on the Seward Highway for roadside cleanup through July 15 — a stretch that's part of the road's crash-prone Safety Corridor.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Alaska DOT limits truck weights on Northern Region roads starting May 21 due to spring thaw. • Restrictions range from 50 to 100 percent of legal axle load depending on road condition. • Major highways like Parks Highway stay at full weight, while rural roads drop to 50 percent. • Elliot and Dalton highways exempt from seasonal limits.
Juneau's only paved runway closes overnight this weekend for repairs — and since you can't drive to Juneau, there's a backup plan for emergency medevacs, though it wasn't spelled out.

The Chugach reminded everyone e-bikes can't use hiking trails. The comment section promptly declared war.

Decades of fighting for a road to Cold Bay's all-weather airport — a lifeline in emergencies. Now $18 million in construction money puts it closer than ever.

A pedestrian died Tuesday morning after being struck by two vans on the Glenn Highway near Boniface Parkway, according to an Anchorage Police Department statement.
Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board meets July 24, 2026. Full agenda and public comment details will post in the state notice system.

A vehicle collision shut all southbound lanes of the New Seward Highway at Rabbit Creek Road on Wednesday evening. APD officers are on scene; drivers heading south should detour via the Old Seward Highway.
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.

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.

Trump rescinded executive orders requiring federal agencies to minimize off-road vehicle damage to wildlife and soils, potentially reshaping access rules on Alaska's 60 percent federally owned lands.
Federal Highway Administrator committed to finalize the Road, an 11-mile project connecting the community to Cold Bay's airport, and will visit Alaska in late June.
FAST Planning board votes June 17 on expanding metro planning boundary to include Farmer's Loop, Chena Ridge, Chena Pump, Moose Creek, and Eielson Air Force Base.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport says TSA wait times are back to normal, but advises arriving two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights as summer travel picks up.

Anchorage is getting $214K in federal money for pedestrian safety outreach. The city's pedestrian fatality numbers say, maybe it's overdue?

The Alaska House Community and Regional Affairs Committee heard testimony on HB 217, which would require human drivers in all commercial autonomous vehicles, effectively banning driverless operations statewide.
Alaska House passed a bill updating classic car import rules to match federal standards, allowing cars 25 years old or older to be registered instead of only pre-1981 models, after a constituent could not register a federally legal vehicle.

Alaska borough transfers nine riverfront parcels to the state to build erosion barriers before the Matanuska River threatens the highway.

The McCarthy Road opened May 8 for the season with fair to difficult conditions including soft shoulders and wet roadway, prompting a 35 mph advisory speed limit on the 60-mile gravel route that provides sole access to McCarthy, Kennicott, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
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.

You know what they say, everything good in this life is free

Ketchikan closes Gorge and Sayles streets through fall 2026 for viaduct replacement, forcing drivers to use alternate routes while crews work six days a week.

Alaska House passed HB 217 requiring a human operator in certain commercial autonomous vehicles, sending the bill to Senate State Affairs Committee despite opposition from industry groups and the state transportation department.
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.

Anchorage is finally redesigning Bragaw Street — no bike lanes, disappearing sidewalks, nowhere for the snow — with mostly federal money and a six-year timeline.

Sitka's Fourth brings a parade, a Coast Guard rescue demo, and a firefighters-vs-Coast Guard water fight — but downtown streets close July 3–5, so plan to walk.















