Whittier Tunnel closed after rocks fall, repairs underway

Fallen rocks in the Whittier Tunnel caused the Alaska Department of Transportation to temporarily close the thoroughfare, cutting off road and rail links to the community.

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DOT spokeswoman Shannon McCarthy said two rocks fell inside the tunnel.

“Like four feet by four feet at the largest,” McCarthy said. “But still, those can be fairly heavy and we don’t want those falling down, much less in the road.”

McCarthy said the discovery of the fallen rocks prompted a closer look from tunnel inspectors and geologists.

“They determined there was a larger section of rock that had actually separated from the wall and needs to be removed,” McCarthy said.

DOT officials closed the tunnel to traffic until crews ensure the tunnel is stabilized.

The section of rock needing to be removed from the tunnel is about 12 feet tall, 5 feet wide and is estimated to weigh around 10 tons.

McCarthy said similar incidents in the tunnel have happened in the past – the last one more than a decade ago.

Rock slides outside the tunnel have prompted closures more recently.

The closure cuts off road ties to Whittier, and will also affect the railroad. But, since passenger trains don’t run to Whittier during the winter, Alaska Railroad spokesman Tim Sullivan said impacts have been minimal, so far.

“We’ve got a barge that’s arriving [Wednesday] into Whittier that we want to get unloaded, and we’re hopeful that they’ll be able to get the tunnel open soon,” Sullivan said. “We need to get an actual train and crew there to be working on that.”

Sullivan said the railroad typically offloads barges once or twice a week in Whittier.

It’s unknown when trains will be allowed through the tunnel again, but DOT’s Shannon McCarthy said its contractor will be working without stop until the repairs are made.

“Doing the work as quickly as they can so that we can get a safe tunnel like we expect and reopen to the traffic so they can follow the regular tunnel schedule,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said DOT anticipates allowing one lane of traffic in and one lane out, per day, until the work is complete.

The tunnel closure is also affecting the Alaska Marine Highway, which has canceled the Ferry Fairweather’s Thursday sailing into Whittier.