New Tanana River Bridge Enables More Efficient Commerce
Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities sent this bulletin at 08/12/2011 03:42 PM AKDT
New Tanana River Bridge Enables More Efficient Commerce
Contact: Meadow Bailey, 907-378-2340 or meadow.bailey@alaska.gov
(FAIRBANKS, Alaska) - The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) celebrated the completion of the new Tanana River Bridge Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony in Tok, Alaska.
The location of the Tanana River Bridge is important to commerce in Alaska; it is located at milepost 1303 of the Alaska Highway - on the only overland route from Canada into Alaska's interior.
The original bridge had the lowest vertical clearance of four truss bridges on the Alaska Highway. The design of the new bridge removed the vertical load limits and is capable of handling heavier commercial loads, allowing more efficient movement of goods.
The Tanana River Bridge project included; construction of a new bridge on a new alignment, removal of the existing truss bridge, realignment of approximately one mile of highway to match the new bridge approaches, reconstruction of the boat ramp and parking area, and construction of a new wayside. The new wayside incorporates salvaged pieces of the existing bridge in an interpretive display detailing the history of the area.
Alaska Interstate Construction, LLC of Anchorage started construction on the 33.4 million dollar bridge in April 2009 and completed the project in July 2011. The project was funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
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Attached photo: The ribbon is cut on the new Tanana River Bridge (visible in the background). Left to right are: Alaska Interstate Construction President Steve Percy, DOT&PF Commissioner Marc Luiken, DOT&PF Northern Region Director Steve Titus, DOT&PF Project Manager Jason Hill, DOT&PF Utility Engineer Gail Gardner, Federal Highway Administration Assistant Division Administrator Sandra Garcia-Aline (Photo by Meadow Bailey, DOT&PF)
For full size photos of the Tanana River Bridge Ribbon Cutting visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akdotpf/sets/72157627280962949/