Huge amounts of rock will soon be barged from Nome to Utqiaġvik. It’s part of an effort to protect the North Slope community from shoreline erosion caused by storms and climate change.
The Barrow Coastal Erosion Project plans for over 100,000 tons of large stones known as armor rock. When complete, the rocks will span 5 miles along Utqiaġvik’s sandy, permafrost-filled shoreline.
Utqiaġvik is the political and economic hub of the North Slope Borough. In 2018, the city’s seawall was wiped out by a storm, leaving the downtown area vulnerable to flooding. For years, the borough has constructed temporary berms with sand and other materials from upland areas.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers valued Utqiaġvik’s infrastructure at over $1 billion when it awarded the contract in 2023.
Rock for the project is coming from a quarry at Cape Nome about 13 miles east of town. The quarry is owned and operated by Sound Quarry Inc, a subsidiary of Bering Straits Native Corporation. Spokesperson for the corporation, Marleanna Hall, said in an email it's one of the largest orders the quarry has taken on.
Hall said the Kiewit Corporation is leading the project and has shipped up specialized equipment. She also said one of BSNC’s subsidiaries, Alaska Gold Corporation, was contributing additional trucks and trailers.
The first load of armor rock is expected to leave Nome in July. The project is scheduled for completion in 2031.
