DOT outlines safety steps, staffing shortfalls and bridge review tied to ore haul and Dalton Highway

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities told the House Resources Committee on Feb. 28 that it has completed corridor clearing and other safety work on routes used by the Tetlin–Fort Knox ore haul, is monitoring bridges and has submitted a federal-funded load-rating study now in draft, and is addressing operator and mechanic vacancies that affect winter maintenance on the Dalton Highway and other corridors.

Committee members were told the department formed a technical advisory committee and commissioned a corridor study (the “Kinney” report) to identify safety and maintenance issues where concentrated heavy hauling would use the Alaska, Richardson and Steese highways. “We did actually implement a clearing project that covered all the way…along the entire route,” said Jason Sakhalaskos, Northern Region maintenance operations chief, describing vegetation and sight-distance work intended to improve visibility for drivers and reduce animal attractants near the roadway.

The committee heard several reasons the department is not relying on gross vehicle weight alone to measure bridge impacts. “What matters to us is the individual axle weights and spacings,” Leslie Daugherty, chief bridge engineer, told the committee, explaining that bridge response depends on axle configuration and load location more than on gross weight. Daugherty said Federal Highways funded a load-rating study by outside specialists; a second draft arrived this week and will be published on the department research site once final review is complete.

DOT officials described operational responses and tools intended to reduce crash and incident exposure: a winter-operations dashboard, low-cost deployable magnetic lane-warning devices that can push roadway messages to 511, and audible bus and plow alerts integrated with 511 for motorists who opt into the feature. “Once you do this, it'll put a roadway work update directly onto 511,” Sakhalaskos said, noting warning integration with modern vehicle systems and the 511 service.

The department also described local agreements tied to hauling: a winter maintenance agreement with ore haulers to perform additional sanding and snow removal in steep or difficult locations, and work under way on a highway use agreement with the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation to define crossings, right-of-way and construction coordination. Andy Mills, DOT legislative liaison, told the committee the department can provide the memorandum of agreement (MOA) and other written details on request: “we can provide the MOA.”

Committee members asked for more concrete numbers and follow-up. DOT said maximum allowable configurations on some permitted loads can be in the 160,000-pound range, and that axle groups and spacing matter; officials promised to supply frequency and weight details to the committee by follow-up email. Dan Smith, director of measurement standards and commercial vehicle compliance, described permit requirements and new procedures intended to reduce bridge strikes, including route surveys and pilot cars for tall loads.

DOT also presented workforce data for winter operations: statewide average vacancies in winter maintenance moved from roughly 22% last year to about 14% currently, but the Dalton Highway remained higher (about 22% in the most recent snapshot). Mechanics’ vacancies rose (from about 25% to 33% in the department’s report). Officials described recruitment and training steps, including CDL apprenticeships and internal training to bring employees up to operator qualifications, and increased use of resource-sharing (for example, using Department of Natural Resources crews for vegetation management), contractor support, and longer rotational work schedules to cover shortfalls.

No formal committee action or vote occurred on any DOT item. Committee members asked DOT to provide the MOA, the monitoring plan, and details on permitted weights and vehicle frequencies as follow-up.

The department’s presentation also listed planned capital work for summer construction on the Dalton and Elliott highways and noted Dead Horse Airport improvements in the governor’s FY26 budget proposal. DOT officials said some planned capital projects may offer opportunities for contractors to perform maintenance work outside project limits and that they are pursuing additional contracting to fill service gaps.

Ending: Committee members took the presentation and asked DOT to provide written MOAs and monitoring documents; the session moved on after questions and no formal committee votes were recorded.