The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, is proposing to rehabilitate two sections of the Denali Park Road just beyond park headquarters near Mile 4.0 and 4.5. An Environmental Assessment (EA) was written to analyze impacts of the following proposed actions and of a no-action alternative.
The section of road at Mile 4.0 has a chronic soil slump due to a poor road base over melting permafrost. The road would be rerouted to the north for about 1,600 feet through an abandoned borrow pit that would provide a more stable base for the road, and that section of road would then be paved.
The area at Mile 4.5 has hazardous winter ice sheet accumulation due to adjacent springs. This section of road would be raised about three feet, and shifted south approximately five feet. The uphill (north) ditch would be enlarged significantly to hold more winter ice accumulation. Several culverts, each about seven feet in diameter, would be installed to increase drainage, reduce the ice sheeting and facilitate spring road opening.
In both instances the old road bed would be restored by using mats of plant material that would be removed before new road construction, and seeding of native plant species.
The EA is currently available for public review at https://parkplanning.nps.gov. It will also be posted on the Denali National Park Service website at www.nps.gov/dena. Comments on the EA will be accepted through Monday, July 23, 2007. Comments on the project can be submitted by email at https://parkplanning.nps.gov, faxed to (907) 683-9612 or in writing to:
Superintendent
Denali National Park and Preserve
P.O. Box 9
Denali Park, AK 99755
For more information please contact Dick Anderson, Environmental Protection Specialist, at (907) 644-3536 or e-mail us.
-NPS-
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
