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Sterling Highway reopens intermittently near Cooper Landing

Courtesy of Alaska Department of Transportation

Update, Nov. 2, 11 a.m.:

Drivers can still expect one-hour delays as crews continue repairing the Sterling Highway today by Milepost 50. Department of Transportation spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said the road will be open and closed periodically Tuesday, with flaggers waving one lane of traffic through at a time.

The Department of Transportation opened the highway to two-lane traffic Monday night, during a pause in repairs. McCarthy says the department hopes to open the road to two-lane traffic again tonight.

Early Tuesday morning, Chugach Electric restored power to the remaining 23 meters in Cooper Landing. A spokesperson from Chugach Electric said a line patrol did not find any damage to Chugach facilites.

Nov. 1, 5 p.m.:

Crews have cleared the Sterling Highway near Milepost 50 in Cooper Landing and are gradually opening the road to travelers, letting cars in each direction pass for 30 minutes at a time. The Alaska Department of Transportation hopes to have both lanes open tonight.

The road closed early Sunday after a landslide, near Cooper Creek, made it impassable. The slide was part of the fallout from storms that triggered warm winds and rains across the peninsula this weekend and washed out a road in Girdwood. Slides also temporarily closed the Seward Highway at Mileposts 21 and 45, though those were fairly minor and cleaned up within a few hours. 

Department of Transportation spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said the department is opening the road during even hours to passing traffic — a half hour for northbound traffic and a half hour for southbound. During odd hours the road will close as crews finish work on the slope side.

"We’ll continue this schedule for the short term, but they are hoping to open up the highway to two lanes later on tonight or tomorrow," she said.

The highway was closed all Sunday amid heavy rain and high risk of another slide. That trapped some commuters on either side.

"You realize how remote Alaskans are. Even the ones on the road system. It’s just one road and if that road goes out, it’s doomed," said Sara Erickson, who was supposed to make the trip from Anchorage back home to Soldotna on Sunday.

At 3 p.m. Monday, she was finally making her way down. After about 50 minutes near the site of the slide in Cooper Landing, flaggers waved her through.

"We’re moving pretty slow here through Cooper Landing," she said. "But at least we’re moving! So I’m excited.”

Closures on the one road out of town are not foreign to Alaska drivers. The Sterling Highway closed on a number of occasions in 2019, during the Swan Lake Fire.

Erickson said she’s grateful for the Department of Transportation’s hard work. And, luckily, she had enough cell service to pass the time while waiting.

The storms also spurred power outages across the peninsula. Power has since been restored in many of those communities. But as of Monday, there were still 23 meters without power in Cooper Landing, including about a dozen homes.

Julie Hasquet with Chugach Electric said that’s because the slide blocked crews from reaching the south side of the slide. They had already been working on restoring power on the north side. 

“Then while they were working is when the slide occurred," she said. "And that’s why they haven’t been able to get to that other side.”

Monday afternoon, the crew was waiting in a queue of cars to get to work on the other side. 

McCarthy said there's still some debris the Department of Transportation needs to clean up at the site. Crews recently finished repairing the guardrail — important for that stretch of the highway, since it butts up against the river. 

She said they’re also taking a look at the slope.

“Whenever there’s a landslide we do bring out geotechnical experts into the conversation," she said. "They are down there, they’ve taken a look. There is some concern but what we really want to do is get the highway open and then take a long, hard look at that uphill slope and see what’s going on.”

She said drivers can expect delays of an hour or so until both lanes are up and running.

Sabine Poux is a producer and reporter for the Brave Little State podcast of Vermont Public. She was formerly news director and evening news host at KDLL in Kenai.

Originally from New York, Sabine has lived and reported in Argentina and Vermont and Kenai.
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