Three weeks after ex-typhoon Merbok hit Western Alaska and breached the Nome-Council Road, Department of Transportation crews and local contractors have finished their repairs.
According to DOT, their construction workers along with Knik Construction hauled over 100,000 tons of material in order to make the Nome-Council road passable again before freeze-up.
The agency estimates a dozen side-dump trucks were used, along with five excavators and two bulldozers.
About 55 workers put in long hours on a daily basis for weeks in order to meet the self-imposed weather deadline. Temperatures dropped to freezing levels by last week, with consistent snow cover in the Nome area.
By Oct. 21, the Nome-Council road was drivable all the way out to Solomon. The Safety Sound bridge near Mile 24 that was ruined by the storm has since been removed and the two ends of the road have been connected without using a new bridge.
Davis Hovey is a news reporter at KNOM - Nome.
Hovey was born and raised in Virginia. He spent most of his childhood in Greene County 20 minutes outside of Charlottesville where University of Virginia is located.
Hovis was drawn in by the opportunity to work for a radio station in a remote, unique place like Nome Alaska. Hovis went to Syracuse University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Broadcast Digital Journalism.
