AK: Major washout in middle of AK 10 (Childs Glacier)

[oscar]

In August 2018, a new washout of the Copper River Highway in the middle of AK 10's Childs Glacier segment essentially cut off tourist access to that part of the highway. Until then, tour operators had used jetboats to ferry tourists around two bridges in the Copper River delta that were closed in 2011, to vehicles parked on the other side of the river which would take the tourists the rest of the way to the historic Million Dollar Bridge and adjacent glacier viewing areas. According to the latest Milepost guide to Arctic highways, those tours have now been suspended, since it would not have been feasible to ferry tourists around all the road closures or take them directly to the MDB.

The state's worsening financial condition makes it unlikely the DOT will anytime soon fix the highway across or east of the Copper River (cost of at least $50 million, and probably much more than that), especially since there's no guarantee the Copper River won't change course again and cause even more damage to the highway. Even a fix of the latest washout would be complicated by the difficulty of getting construction equipment across the river, without a repair of the bridges closed in 2011. So I now think AK 10 (Childs Glacier) should be removed from the HB, leaving the two still-open AK 10 segments.

I'm the only one claiming mileage on AK 10 (Childs Glacier), from travels before the washout and bridge closures. So removing that segment from the HB would not affect any other users.

[mapcat]

Is there any estimate to how long this might be closed? I'm assuming it's absolutely impossible to access this section any other way (flying in, for example).

Even though no active users are claiming mileage here, someone may join in the future who has been on this road, and may wish to include the segment.

[oscar]

Is there any estimate to how long this might be closed? I'm assuming it's absolutely impossible to access this section any other way (flying in, for example).

Even though no active users are claiming mileage here, someone may join in the future who has been on this road, and may wish to include the segment.

Without major repairs, the only option is to get to the Million Dollar Bridge via jetboat (even though no organized tours this year), or maybe helicopter or floatplane. Once you're at the MDB, you can hike the highway about four miles south to the washout (and maybe walk through the forest around the washout to hike a few more miles), and/or about a mile north of the bridge.

The Eyak native development corporation has discussed pursuing a Federal grant to reopen the closed bridges and fix the washout, without state funds. Its website has nothing on whether that is still active. The other option is a huge enough increase in oil prices to lift the state out of its fiscal crisis, so it can try to do the repairs itself.

[Duke87]

It's not impossible to get to any of the road - but you will need to procure your own boat as there are no ferries.

With it now being up to two holes in the road, it is now seemingly more likely it will never be fixed and reopened - there is no real reason to spend eight, possibly nine figures on it when it's a road to nowhere and the locals in Cordova are adamantly opposed to any proposals to make it a road to somewhere.

My understanding is there are no shields anywhere between Cordova and Childs Glacier (Oscar, correct me if I'm wrong), so I'd be fine with just 86ing the whole thing from the HB on such grounds.

[oscar]

My understanding is there are no shields anywhere between Cordova and Childs Glacier (Oscar, correct me if I'm wrong), so I'd be fine with just 86ing the whole thing from the HB on such grounds.

That's correct, but due to persistent sign vandalism, which foiled Alaska DOT&PF's efforts to sign the route from Cordova eastward. The local hunch is that the vandals strongly objected to the route designation, which they viewed as a precursor to connecting Cordova to the rest of the state highway system. Cordova residents seem to like their semi-isolation, judging from all the "No Road" bumper stickers I saw there. I thought this was one of the more compelling reasons to make an exception to the old CHM rule on unsigned routes.

Until all the closures, the highway did connect Cordova to the historic Million Dollar Bridge and glacier viewing areas (both popular tourist attractions), so it did go somewhere besides Cordova's airports (the Mudhole Smith airport has scheduled jet service), another glacier, and other recreation sites west of the Copper River. But I'm skeptical that the increasing costs of doing battle with the ever-shifting Copper River will let that connection be reestablished east of the river.

[oscar]

Pull request submitted to delete AK 10 (Childs Glacier):

https://github.com/TravelMapping/HighwayData/pull/2723