Dalton Highway maintenance costs rise as permafrost threatens road stability

The Dalton Highway is deteriorating faster than state funds can repair it.

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Ryan Anderson told the Senate Resources Committee on January 28 that the state spends $20 million annually to maintain the road. This figure has only been adjusted for inflation since 2019, when the estimate stood at $16.5 million. Anderson noted that federal funds can only cover reconstruction and resurfacing, not routine maintenance. The state currently shares the cost of federally funded projects at a 90/10 ratio, with Alaska paying 10 percent.

JR Wilcox, founder and CEO of Alyeschem, stated that the road requires a stewardship mindset rather than temporary fixes. Wilcox’s company is building a chemical plant near Deadhorse and recently finished driving the first piles for the project. He said that transporting equipment from Fairbanks causes serious damage to vehicles. "It’s not kind to equipment," Wilcox said. His firm plans to truck more components from Texas in the coming months.

Senator Scott Kawasaki of Fairbanks argued that the state has not allocated enough money to maintenance budgets. He observed that while total government costs indexed to inflation have remained flat, maintenance needs have grown. Kawasaki introduced Senate Bill 286 earlier this year to impose a toll on a two-mile stretch near mileposts 413 and 415. The bill stalled after opponents argued that toll revenue would enter the general fund rather than being earmarked for the highway. Jamie Benson, president and CEO of the Alaska Trucking Association, said her group’s primary concern is that funds would not be dedicated specifically to the Dalton. The Alaska Constitution prohibits the dedication of tax proceeds to special purposes unless required by federal law.

Freight rates along the highway have doubled in recent years due to insurance and maintenance costs, according to Senator Robert Myers of North Pole. Myers, who also works as a Dalton Highway trucker, presented this data to the Senate in January. He attributed the increase to the poor condition of the road. The state has declared three disaster events related to flooding on the highway over the past decade. In 2015, ice jams and spring breakup closed the road for nearly a month. Emergency repairs for 24 miles of damaged road cost $17 million. Last year, flooding between mileposts 315 and 404 caused a five-day closure.

Permafrost thawing presents a growing structural challenge. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has monitored temperatures at several sites along the highway since the early 1980s. Unstable ground complicates maintenance efforts. Anderson stated that maintaining a safe highway in this natural environment poses a greater challenge than increased traffic volume. The Alaska LNG project is expected to expand industrial use of the road, while tourism from bicyclists and electric vehicle drivers adds to the demand.

In 2008, then-Deputy Commissioner Frank Richards briefed legislators that the highway needed $1 billion in additional funding to support gas pipeline development. That plan included 36 projects, such as highway reconstruction, airport upgrades, and bridge replacements. The legislature provided the initial $100 million requested, which funded three reconstruction projects between specific mileposts. Neither DOT&PF nor Richards confirmed how many of the original 36 projects have been completed. Anderson’s presentation indicated that $465.6 million in capital investments were made between 2015 and 2025. The department plans another $454 million through 2031.

The state faces a budget deficit every year since 2013, except for 2022. Balancing the budget requires spending cuts or new revenue sources. Anderson noted that state funding offers flexibility but lacks an automatic mechanism to increase highway funding based on traffic volume. He added that managing a fleet stretched across a 500-mile corridor, with some sections 250 miles from the nearest parts store, requires considerable effort.