This article discusses transportation in theU.S. state ofAlaska.
Alaska has a small population within a very large geographic area. The geographic differences mean that no single transportation strategy works for the state as a whole. Roads connect the majorSouthcentral population centers withFairbanks and the Canadian border. Barges supply the communities along the coast and major rivers, and a ferry system supports the coastal communities in the south. A railroad connects the ports ofSeward,Whittier, andAnchorage with the interior via Fairbanks. Many interior communities are connected by seasonal ATV trails when the weather is cold enough to freeze otherwise impassable grounds. Air travel is the critical connection between these various regions.
Alaska's climate and geography provide significant challenges to building and maintaining roads. Mountain ranges,permafrost, long distances between small population centers, and the cost of transporting materials all add to the costs and challenges of Alaska's road system. Many of the northern highways have tighter weight restrictions during spring, where axle load limits can be reduced by as much as 20% due to seasonally soft ground.[1]
Alaska is arguably the least-connected U.S. state in terms of road transportation. Its road system covers a relatively small area of the state, linking the central population centers and theAlaska Highway, the principal route out of the state throughCanada. The state capital,Juneau, is not accessible by road, which has spurred several debates over the decades about moving the capital to a city on the road system. One unique feature of the road system is theAnton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which links theSeward Highway south of Anchorage with the relatively isolated community ofWhittier. The tunnel held the title of the longest road tunnel in North America (at nearly 2.5 miles [4 km]) until completion of the 3.5-mile (5.6 km)Interstate 93 tunnel as part of the "Big Dig" project inBoston, Massachusetts. The tunnel retains the title of the longest combination road and rail tunnel in North America.
Vehicles are transported to and from many coastal communities only by boat.
The State and local boroughs maintain about 4,700 miles (7,600 km) of winter trails throughout the northern and western regions. The trails often follow paths laid out by indigenous people, and the network stretches along the coast fromNorton Sound to theBeaufort Sea. Trails reach the interior along theYukon,Koyukuk, andKobuk rivers. In 2004, theState Department of Transportation worked with local partners to provide wayfinding in the form of tripods made of 8-foot (2.4 m) tall reflective stakes, able to be placed each season when the ground freezes enough to allow passage. It intended to place these tripods at least every 500 feet (150 m). In addition to refuge cabins maintained along the route in case of emergency, the tripods can be used for basic shelter with the addition of a tarpaulin.[2]
Winter trails are established every winter after the ground freezes and contain three categories:
TheIditarod National Historic Trail (not to be mistaken for therace of the same name) is a network of roughly 2,400 miles (3,900 km) of trail stretching from Seward in the southeast to Nome in the northwest. The trail began as a composite of trails established by Alaskan native peoples. During the Gold Rush era from the 1890s to the 1920s, it connected a string of mines, trading posts, and settlements, for which it was declared aNational Historic Trail in 1978.[4]
TheRevised statute 2477 of 1866 was passed to allow for the development of the Western states. It states that "the right-of-way for the construction of highways across public lands not otherwise reserved for public purposes is hereby granted," with no requirements for a survey or a recorded decision creating the road. RS 2477 was repealed in 1976, but the access it provided across Federally owned land was not rescinded. Access to trails across what was at the time Federal lands can be retained as public highways. Since most land title in Alaska was held by the Federal Government before the passage of theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1977, RS277 trails now cross public and private lands and remain vital to transportation within Alaska. The DNR actively researches and pursues historical trail use to assert public access to RS 2477 trails.[5][1][2]
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TheAlaska Railroad runs fromSeward throughAnchorage,Denali, andFairbanks toNorth Pole, with spurs toWhittier andPalmer (locally known as "The Railbelt"). Purchased by the State from the Federal Government in 1985, it is run as a state cooperation.[1] The railroad carries both freight and passengers throughout its system, but only runs daily passenger service in the summer to accommodate tourists and a more limited weekly passenger service in the winter primarily for residents. The railroad plays a vital part in moving Alaska's natural resources, such as coal and gravel, to ports in Anchorage, Whittier, and Seward. In 2015, the railroad carried more than 4.3 million tons of freight.[6] The railroad brings goods from tidewater to the interior city of Fairbanks, and toNenana, where goods are put on barges to travel theTanana and Yukon rivers.[1] There are rail connections by barge between Whittier and theport of Seattle.
The Alaska Railroad carries about 500 thousand passengers a year.[7] Most passengers use the Alaska Railroad for seasonal recreational use.[1] The Alaska Railroad offers one of the lastflag stop routes in the country.[clarification needed] A stretch of about 60 miles (97 km) of track along an area inaccessible by road serves as the only transportation to cabins in the area.[1] Althoughrail ferry service links Alaska withWashington state (Seattle) andBritish Columbia, there are plans to link Alaska to the rest of the North American rail network viaYukon Territory and British Columbia.[8]
TheWhite Pass and Yukon Route was established in 1898 betweenSkagway and Whitehorse. Originally built for theKlondike Gold Rush, it was not completed before the rush died down.[6] The railway found work hauling Canadiancopper,silver, andlead to tidewater in Skagway. A combination of low ore prices and competition with theHaines Highway, which saw major improvements in 1976, caused the White Pass and Yukon Railroad to close on October 7, 1982.[9]
In 1988 the railroad was reopened as a passenger-only line catering to tourists, traveling to Lake Bennet and back, using vintage parlor cars. In 2015 the line carried 401,905 passengers on an excursion to the summit and back.[6]
The idea of aCanada–Alaska Railway has been discussed and studied for years. In 2005, a joint study funded by Alaska and the Yukon found that such a railroad would cost US$11 Billion to build, but could increase the GDP of Alaska and Canada by approximately US$170 Billion.[6] In 2016, an Alberta to Alaska pre-feasibility study paid for by the Alberta government determined that a railroad connecting Alberta to Alaska would cost between $27 and $34 Billion CDN, but could allow the development of $659 Billion CDN worth of minerals over 30 years.[6]
As of November 2021[update], theAlaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation is proposing connectingFort McMurray, Alberta with thePoint MacKenzie, Alaska through the Alaska Railroad.[10]
Nearly all larger cities and boroughs across the state operate localbus systems, including Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Bethel.[11] WhileGreyhound does not operate in Alaska, numerous private bus companies in the state offer regional bus service, with Anchorage and Fairbanks as the primary hub cities.[12]
Many cities and villages in the state are accessible only by sea or air. Alaska has a well-developedferry system, known as theAlaska Marine Highway, which serves the cities inSoutheast andSouthcentral Alaska as well as in theAlaska Peninsula. The system also operates a ferry service fromBellingham, Washington andPrince Rupert, British Columbia inCanada up theInside Passage toSkagway. In thePrince of Wales Island region of Southeast, theInter-Island Ferry Authority also serves as an important marine link for many communities and works in concert with the Alaska Marine Highway.Cruise ships are an increasingly popular way for tourists to see Alaska.
The Yukon and Tanana rivers allow for seasonal barge use for barges with about 4.5 feet of draft.[1] Barge service is provided by private industry and provides most of the bulk fuel and material shipments for villages in the area.[1] The tight ice-free season means that some villages only receive barge service 3 or 4 times a year. The only permanent port barge facilities are the rail/barge transfer sites at Nenana,[1] although most bulk fuel is loaded onto the barge in North Pole.[1]
Since surface transportation in Alaska has so many difficulties, air transport is essential to how Alaskans travel within the state. The state owns and maintains a majority of the airports within the state[2][1] but relies on private air carriers to provide air service. Alaska has several regional hubs, such asBethel,Nome,Kotzebue, andDillingham, that receive regular service with large aircraft and act as the base for smaller aircraft to serve communities within the region. The bulk of remaining commercial flight offerings come from small regional commuter airlines likeRavn Alaska,PenAir, andFrontier Flying Service. The smallest towns and villages rely on scheduled or chartered bush flying services using general aviation aircraft such as theCessna Caravan, the most popular aircraft in use in the state. With surface transportation being varied and seasonable, aircraft are used extensively for freight as well as passengers, andAlaska Airlines is the only major U.S. airline to maintain a fleet of dedicated cargo aircraft.[13]
Air travel is the cheapest and most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction atTed Stevens Anchorage International Airport to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism. In 2000–2001, the latest year for which data are available, 2.4 million total arrivals to Alaska were counted, 1.7 million came via air travel, and 1.4 million were visitors.[14][15]
Perhaps the most quintessentially Alaskan plane is the bush seaplane. The world's busiest seaplane base isLake Hood, located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where flights bound for remote villages without an airstrip carry passengers, cargo, and an abundance of items from stores and warehouse clubs. Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state: out of the estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 are pilots, or about one in every 78.[16]
Because of the high volume of mail that travels by air within the state, the Bypass Mail System was formed to "alleviate congestion of mail in processing centers by creating bypass mail acceptance points."[17] Because of the high quantity of mail shipped to rural Alaska from Anchorage and Fairbanks, the program intended to allow certain volume shippers to bypass postal facilities entirely, reducing cost and congestion. The USPS pays airlines to deliver the packages by air, but charges shippers USPS ground rates to do so, based on a premise that the Post Office should treat each customer the same, whether that customer is in rural Alaska a more well-connected suburb in the lower 48 U.S. states.[18] A 2011 report from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General states the program lost $73 million 2010, that it supports a freight service shipping things that would not be considered mail in the rest of the United States, and that it provides a higher level of service than Priority Mail while charging less thanparcel post.[19] Supporters of the bypass mail system argue that it is an essential lifeline for rural Alaska, and that it actually saves money for the USPS by reducing the handling costs on mail the Post Office would be obligated to ship anyway.[18]
The bypass mail system pays at an "intra-Alaska mainline service rate," which is an average cost of operations from a pool of carriers. Some carriers receive as much as 60% of their revenue from Bypass Mail contracts, allowing them to provide more frequent passenger service as well.[20]
With the Airline Deregulation Act, airlines gained the ability to end service on unprofitable routes. To maintain service, Congress created theEssential Air Service (EAS) program. Through EAS, the Department of Transportation subsidizes passenger and freight service to communities that would otherwise be too small for viable service. In Alaska, there are approximately 60 communities served by EAS.[21][20]
Another Alaskan transportation method is thedogsled. In modern times, dogmushing is more of a sport than a true means of transportation. Various races are held around the state, but the best known is theIditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,150-mile (1,850 km) trail from Anchorage to Nome. The race commemorates the famous1925 serum run to Nome in which mushers and dogs likeBalto took much-needed medicine to thediphtheria-stricken community ofNome when all other means of transportation had failed. Mushers from all over the world come to Anchorage each March to compete for cash prizes and prestige.
In areas not served by road or rail, primary summer transportation is byall-terrain vehicle and primary winter transportation is bysnowmobile, or "snow machine," as it is commonly referred to in Alaska.
In the United States, Alaska has the highest percentage of people whose method of commute to work is walking.[22][clarification needed]
