State begins replacing Alaska Highway truss-style bridge

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – State highway officials are replacing the last truss-style bridge between Anchorage and the Canadian border.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities says a World War II-era bridge on the Alaska Highway will see a permanent replacement by October 2019.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the bridge over the Tok River at Mile 1309 already has been replaced by a temporary detour bridge.

Transportation Department spokeswoman Danielle Tessen says the cost for inspection and maintenance of the old bridge would exceed the cost of a new bridge.

The old bridge is at Mile 1309 between Tok and the Canada border. It was built between 1943 and 1944.

The new bridge comes with a cost of $9.9 million and a projected 75-year life span. HC Contractors was awarded the contract.
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com