The Dalton ice-road disaster has caused a huge problem by cutting off the supply chain for Alaska’s major economic engine. The one hundred trucks that would travel the road on a normal day is down to a mere handful. The Governor declared it a state disaster, allowing emergency funds to help repair it.
Alaskans refer to the Dalton as the road to the bank because the vast majority of the state’s revenuecomes from taxes on oil produced at the end of the highway. A runaway river has caused massive flooding to form a giant ice sheet over the only route to the state’s lucrative northern oilfields, threatening the supply chain that companies rely on to support workers and daily operations. Critical shipments of food, supplies and equipment have already been delayed by a week. An ongoing shortage may cause companies to pull back operations or turn to far more expensive ways to transport these goods.
On a typical day, at least 100 truckers would make the 15-hour drive from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay to carry fuel, food, equipment and other supplies to workers who are staffing oilfield operations for BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and a host of other companies. On Sunday, Krueger said she had directed only about 15 trucks over the past few days.
The sudden flooding has made one of the state’s most critical highways virtually impassable. The road has been closed for most of the past week, forcing Gov. Bill Walker to declare a state of disaster to loosen up funds and permit requirements so the state’s Department of Transportation could double down on its efforts to carve a roadway out of the mess. The agency has already exhausted its emergency funds and plans to request federal money to cover the remaining costs. Alaska’s Senate Finance Committee has committed $5 million to the cause.
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