Tanana River Bridge: crossing the river at Salcha.

• Author: Cottrell, Paula
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Building Alaska

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"We're finally going to build a bridge to somewhere Congressman Don Young said Sept. 28, 2011, as he stood alongside former U.S. Senator and Governor Frank Murkowski and former Governor Bill Sheffield at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tanana River Bridge--the first phase of what many hope will eventually become the Northern Rail Extension. But where exactly is "somewhere?"

In this case, somewhere begins in Salcha, a small Alaska town located near a wide stretch of the Tanana River about 40 miles south of Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway. With a population of just over 1,000 people, Salcha was little more than a two-lodge town until work began on the first phase of the Alaska Railroad Corp.'s Northern Rail Extension--a proposed 80-mile rail extension connecting Eielson Air Force Base to Delta Junction.

Phase One of the Northern Rail Extension--the only phase of the project to receive funding thus far--encompasses the construction of a railroad bridge and access road that will span a 3,300 foot section of the Tanana River near Salcha. Once completed, this bridge will provide year-round access to the Department of Defense's training areas south of the Tanana River between Fairbanks and Delta Junction known as the Joint Pacific Area Range Complex. Currently, access to these training grounds is limited to ice roads six to eight weeks each winter.

Staging Grounds

Phase One of the project began in the fall of 2011 with the clearing of 70 acres for the project staging area. Timber was cleared from the area and 40 acres of wood, or about 220 cords, was harvested, cut, split and provided free of charge to the Salcha community through a permitting process.

"Wood is a valuable commodity in this part of Alaska," says Mark Peterburs, project director for AARC. "This area is hard pressed when it comes to resources for home heating. There is no natural gas, which leaves heating oil--which is quite expensive--electricity and wood. The free wood program was designed to give back to the Salcha community."

Home heating fuel is not the only way AARC is hoping to give back to the Salcha community during this project. An important component to the Tanana River Bridge is the construction of a two-mile long levee designed to stabilize that portion of the river and protect it from seasonal overflow and ice jams.

"We are building the bridge over a section of the Tanana River that floods on a regular basis," says Brian Lindamood...