20 ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW FALL 2024 Rough conditions slow delivery times, add costs for truckers, producers BY TIM BRADNER TRUCKERS ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THE DALTON HIGHWAY, THE NORTH-SOUTH STATE ROAD THAT CONNECTS NORTH SLOPE OIL FIELDS WITH INTERIOR ALASKA. It isn’t just a trucking issue: It’s a big problem for the oil and gas industry, and for the state. The Dalton is a critical surface transportation link that supports shipments of equipment and supplies to the North Slope oil fields and northern sections of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, or TAPS. The 414mile road was built in the mid-1970s to support construction of TAPS. Here’s the issue: The highway is in poor shape for a number of reasons. Changing weather, which is related to climate change, has brought a lot more summer rain, north of the Atigun Pass. This creates big potholes, rough “washboard” road conditions and erosion along road shoulders. Permafrost thaw problems are increasing, particularly in the Coldfoot area south of Atigun Pass. “The discontinuous permafrost areas where there is differential settling and melting are the biggest problem areas. Unfortunately, they stretch from where you come down off the Chandalar Shelf (south of Atigun) at about Mile Post 234 on south to Fairbanks,” said John Perreault, northern region spokesperson for the state transportation agency. Because of these changes, the spring and fall “transition” periods from winter are also getting longer, which means the winter driving season, when roads are frozen and more stable, are shorter. Sen. Robert Myers, R-North Pole, who chairs the transportation committee in the state Senate and is a Dalton Highway trucker himself, said problems ironically occur more frequently on parts of the Dalton now paved than on gravel sections. That’s because pavement deteriorates quickly when exposed to tough weather and climate conditions. Driving is good for a few years on new pavement, Myers said, but then pot-holes and frost heaves appear, creating problems for truckers. A gravel road is actually easier to maintain in the long run, because it just takes more gravel laid down periodically, along with grading, he said. Myers said he is sometimes slowed to 10 miles per hour when driving the road to navigate obstacles safely. Jamie Benson, executive director of the Alaska Trucking Association, said wear and tear on equipment and breakdowns, from flat tires to broken air bags, slows truckers’ DALTON HIGHWAY, LINK TO SLOPE, IN TOUGH SHAPE Dalton Highway in the Brooks Range. Permafrost thaw is creating problems for the roadbed. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
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