Transportation
RSSTransportation in Alaska is the network of highways, ferries, airports and transit systems connecting its communities. It tracks highway maintenance, closures and construction, Alaska Marine Highway System ferries, and local transportation planning and safety projects.
Inside Transportation
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Week of Aug 17
A proposed rule would presume national forest roads and trails are open unless the Forest Service documents a reason to close them
A proposed rule would presume national forest roads and trails, including in Alaska, are open unless the Forest Service documents a reason to close them.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The state is studying a walking path between Naknek and King Salmon
People walk the highway between Naknek and King Salmon with no separated path. The state has started studies on a $6.87 million pathway between the towns.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Two transit funding deadlines are open for Alaska providers this fall
Alaska transit providers have until Sept. 18 to signal intent for state human services transportation grants. A separate federal program closes Oct. 19.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The feds are tightening subsidies for flights to small towns, but Alaska is exempt by name
The feds are tightening flight subsidies for small towns everywhere but Alaska, which Congress exempted by name because the flights there are lifelines.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska ferry system awarded more than $410 million in federal funding
Alaska's ferry system is getting more than $410 million in federal money, both to keep the boats running and to build a new vessel and upgrade terminals.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage may move a national bike route off its highways and onto the coastal trails
Anchorage may reroute a national bike route off its highways onto the Coastal and Ship Creek trails, part of a push to move cyclists onto lower-stress paths.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Three years and three permits later, Ketchikan's airport ferry still has no backup berths
Ketchikan's airport ferry docks at one set of berths with no backup. Three years and three federal permits later, the state hasn't driven a pile.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Skagway's ferry terminal is closed indefinitely for work the state planned as a one-week job
Skagway's ferry terminal is closed indefinitely for emergency anchor-chain repairs. A February notice had planned the same work as a one-week closure.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
More from Transportation
A routine Anchorage roads vote this week would also fund cameras at 82 more intersections
A routine Anchorage roads-money vote this week also quietly funds 82 more intersection cameras, in the middle of a public fight over police surveillance.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min read
Judge vacates Izembek land exchange for King Cove road
A federal judge vacated the land exchange behind the King Cove road through the Izembek refuge, reopening one of Alaska's longest fights on primary day.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
DOT says cameras don't read plates; vendor policy allows video storage
Alaska says new cameras in Palmer, Wasilla and Anchorage count people and cars, not plates — but the vendor's policy sets no limit on storing video.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's trail grants reopen, with up to $100,000 on the table
Alaska's multi-use trail grants reopen Wednesday — up to $100,000 at a 90% federal match, open to trail groups, tribes and local governments through Oct. 30.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan's long rebuild of the road toward Saxman inches ahead, with a waterside path and a tangle over land
Ketchikan's rebuild of the highway toward Saxman, adding a waterside path for walkers and bikers, drew more federal money as cost estimates keep swinging.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage shifts $3.46 million from Denali Street to a Fairview pedestrian boulevard
Anchorage dropped a Denali Street walking project and moved $3.46 million to Fairview, where Hyder Street would become a pedestrian boulevard.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
A Seward Highway rebuild that doubled to $1.4 billion is back on Anchorage's plan, over objections
A Seward Highway rebuild that doubled to $1.4 billion is back on Anchorage's plan on a 3-2 vote, over objections about cost, priority and public input.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage airport would let CLEAR sell a faster security line
Anchorage's airport wants to let a private company sell a faster spot in the security line. Objections are due on a Sunday, when the office is closed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Coming up
Juneau Assembly Regular Meeting
Assembly Chambers, Juneau, AK, and Zoom webinar (ID 915 1542 4903, or call 1-253-215-8782)
Meeting
AMATS Policy Committee Vote on Transportation Planning Boundary
Meeting
AMATS Policy Committee Vote on 2027-2030 Transportation Funding
Meeting
AMATS Policy Committee Meeting
Meeting
Public Hearing on 2052 Metropolitan Transportation Plan
Hearing
About Transportation
Transportation in Alaska takes in the highways, ferries, railroad, airports, barges and transit systems that connect its communities. Major routes include the Parks, Glenn, Seward, Sterling, Richardson and Dalton highways.
The state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities drafts a statewide road plan, and regional planners in Anchorage, Fairbanks and the Mat-Su set which projects get federal money. Crashes and closures on highways recur, along with construction schedules, seasonal road closures and the cost of barge freight to Western, Arctic and Southeast Alaska.
Transportation connects closely to infrastructure, economic development and energy. Local questions include transit and paratransit service, bike and walking paths, roundabouts at dangerous intersections and docks and ports for cruise ships and barges.
More from Transportation
The state wants $293M to rebuild 5th and 6th, but the funding isn't settled
The state wants Anchorage to program $293 million to rebuild 5th and 6th avenues downtown, but where the money comes from is unsettled.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Week of Aug 10
Skagway ferry port closed indefinitely; state gives no repair timeline
Skagway's ferry dock is broken and the port is closed indefinitely. The state's entire public explanation fits in one undated website alert.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Hoonah and Ketchikan dock projects renew marine mammal permits without breaking ground
Two Southeast dock projects keep renewing federal permits to make noise underwater. The permits keep expiring. The water remains undisturbed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Trucks keep hitting the Tudor Road overpass. The rebuild is years out
Federal Highway Administration added $912,130 to rebuild the Seward Highway and Tudor Road interchange, one of Anchorage's busiest, with construction now targeted for 2029 or 2030.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Crews dug out Alaska's remote seasonal highways for summer, meeting in the middle of the Denali
Alaska cleared its remote seasonal highways for summer, with crews meeting in the middle of the 135-mile Denali Highway. A $1.25M federal grant paid for it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Old Chena Ridge Road closed for duration of roundabout construction
Road is closed, but only temporarily. One day.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A $1.8M grant to plan safer paths near Cantwell, with two catches
A $1.8 million grant will plan biking and walking paths on a dangerous Parks Highway stretch near Cantwell — but who runs it, and who'd plow them, is unclear.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
Thursday's lane closure at mile 89 on the Richardson Highway is off Alaska 511's list
Richardson Highway Lane Closed
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Landslide on Canadian side closes Klondike Highway at the border
A landslide on the Canadian side closed the Klondike Highway at the U.S.-Canada border Tuesday evening, cutting Skagway's road link to the Yukon during peak summer travel season.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage airport noise study weighs which measures to recommend; public comment Aug. 25
Anchorage residents under the flight paths can comment Aug. 25 as the airport noise study picks what fixes to recommend, from flight-path changes to a jet ban.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Collision closes northbound Richardson Highway at Milepost 352, detour via Badger Road
Big crash road closed
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Lower Barracks Street closes Wednesday morning for Sitka crosswalk painting
Lower Barracks Street closes Wednesday morning from 8 a.m. to noon for volunteers to paint crosswalk art as part of Sitka's pedestrian safety project.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cordova faces a thin ferry winter with four vessels in overhaul
Cordova, with no road out, faces a thin ferry winter as four Alaska Marine Highway vessels go into overhaul, one of them out for most of the season.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 3
Juneau's paratransit service for seniors has failed riders for nine months
A 96-year-old left at Foodland, 25 calls for one trip: Juneau's paratransit for seniors has failed nine months, the commission says — and the city renewed it.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
King Cove road materials arrive on scene as local workers hit another milestone in the development of a contested project
A barge of equipment for the long-disputed King Cove-Cold Bay Road has reached King Cove, though the fight over the route through Izembek refuge continues.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Potter Drive designs test Anchorage guidance on in-street bike lanes
Anchorage planners will review four design options for Potter Drive that would add its first sidewalks and bike lanes, though two conflict with a city plan recommending a separated bikeway.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Sitka's Coast Guard cutter dock clears review; work set for 2026
Sitka's Coast Guard cutter dock cleared its environmental review, with waterfront construction set to run from 2026 to 2028.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
The 5th and 6th avenue rebuild just hit $370 million — and even planners are flagging "scope creep"
Anchorage's 5th and 6th avenue rebuild just hit $370 million with no clear way to pay for it — and even the city's planners are flagging scope creep.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Sitka Harbor Office closes at noon Friday, reopens Monday
Sitka Harbor Office closes at noon Friday and reopens Monday, leaving boat owners and fishers without walk-in service or phone access until then. Call 907-738-0835 for emergencies.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage asked to raise bus tire contract authority by $500,000
Anchorage needs up to $500K more for tires on its 63 city buses, which it leases rather than owns, as leasing and labor costs rise — funded by bonds and grants.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Hughes $25 billion pitch: connect Alaska's railroad to Canada, and Nome to the Interior
Candidate Shelley Hughes wants to link Alaska's railroad to Canada and reach Nome — a roughly $25 billion pitch with no identified funding source.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Rural road access was Alaska's biggest federal award last week
Tribal transportation was Alaska's biggest federal award last week — $2.68 million for rural road access, in a state with fewer road miles than Connecticut.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A plan would move Anchorage's bike route off the highways onto trails
Anchorage's official cross-country bike route runs on highway shoulders. A plan would move it onto the city's trails — the Seward corridor stays contested.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
The road to Bear Valley Elementary would narrow, and won't fix the jam
The road to Bear Valley Elementary already backs up at pickup, so the plan is to make it narrower — which, the project admits, won't fix the jam.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
