Alaska’s transportation department is on track to get more than $1 million to minimize avalanche risks to Seward Highway drivers.
Last week, the department said it was selected for a federal grant that would bolster its Avalanche Mitigation Alert Detection project. Department officials hope to roll out the new technology by next winter.
Tim Glassett oversees avalanche programming for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. He said Tuesday that the grant would pay for three types of avalanche mitigation technology: two detection systems and one remote control system.
“What's nice about these radar systems is it can detect an avalanche in motion, calculate its velocity and figure out, potentially, how far it's going to run,” he said. “And then it can use traffic closure gates and close the road, or have a sign that has flashing lights that warns travelers of an avalanche impacting the roadway.”
The grant totals $1.13 million from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It’s awarded through a program that aims to boost transportation efficiency and safety through technology.
The department’s project targets the Seward Highway between Anchorage and Seward. Glassett says the highway corridor has the highest risk of avalanche impacts to the public due to its traffic volume. It’s one of the state’s busiest roads and is the only one to the Kenai Peninsula.
One of the radar systems would be mounted to a tower alongside the highway. Glassett says officials are looking at Milepost 21, at Summit Lake.
Currently, the department uses signs to let drivers know when they’re entering an avalanche area, for how long they’ll be in an avalanche area and when they exit an avalanche area.
Glassett says the new technology would be a major step up.
“There’s no active alerting for the public,” he said. “That’s more of a warning sign for the public as they drive through these areas. So it’s quite a bit different than what we’re currently doing.”
The other radar system would detect infrasound – that’s very quiet noise – to tell where an avalanche is coming from and how it’s moving. Glassett says the department has already successfully used infrasound systems in Juneau and at Bird Flats near Girdwood.
“There's algorithms that look at avalanche motion, and can pick out avalanche motion and triangulate with three systems, triangulate where that's coming from, and track it as it moves and as it stops,” he said.
The third piece of technology funded by the grant would allow the department to trigger controlled avalanches remotely. Historically, the department has used artillery from the U.S. military as part of avalanche mitigation work.
But Glassett says the Army is pulling back, costs are going up and there are concerns about civilians using military hardware. In recent years, they’ve added drone-dropped explosives and helicopters to their arsenal for controlled avalanches.
State records show avalanches have disrupted transportation through the Chugach and Kenai mountains for more than 100 years, starting when the Alaska Railroad was built. The 30-mile stretch between Anchorage and Portage crosses more than 50 avalanche paths.
Avalanches have hindered traffic along the Seward Highway multiple times in recent years.
An avalanche closed the highway for more than four hours in 2021 and stranded a mom and her three kids on Christmas Eve in 2023. Also in 2023, an avalanche derailed a freight train near Girdwood.
Glassett says the department hopes to have the new technology, including towers and radar systems, deployed by next winter. If all goes well, he says they’d like to apply for more money in the next few years.
Avalanche risk increases with large quantities or new snow or rain, strong wind and rapid temperature changes. Most avalanches happen during or within 24 hours of a snow or rain storm.
The department says drivers who encounter an avalanche should not try to drive through it, relocate to a safe area and stay inside their vehicles. Avalanche alerts, including potential delays, are shared on the department’s up-to-date road conditions website at 511.alaska.gov.
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