Transporting Alaska into the new millennium.

• Author: Middleton, Saundra
• Position: Alaska's transportation industry addresses year 2000 computer problem

In a perfect world, planes fly, ships sail, trucks haul and trains chug.

In the Y2K world, some predict the troublesome "00" will cause planes to fall from the sky or ships to disappear in a Bermuda Triangle of navigational mishaps.

Transportation issues top the Y2K list for many businesses - and all Alaskans - due to Alaska's dependence on the industry.

TRUCKS AND TRAINS

Trucking is probably the least problematic. As long as there is fuel available, most trucking companies can haul cargo to, from and within the state.

Actual locomotive operation, too, does not depend on any date-sensitive equipment, states Curtis Richardson, Alaska Railroad manager of applications and programming.

Richardson adds that the showstopper for the railroad would be telecommunications. If dispatchers lose contact with the train, the crew shuts it down. However, no Y2K issues have been found with radio communication. Alaska Railroad expects a green readiness level by press time. (State of Alaska's rating system includes: red - unlikely to be ready; yellow - should be compliant by year-end; green - compliant.)

The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Year 2000 readiness disclosure statement lists its overall status as yellow. Several functions await contingency plan approval for elevation to green status.

BY SEA AND SKY

Alaska's least expensive mode of transportation, and one of the most important due to the state's extensive coastline, is marine traffic. According to spokesmen at Totem Ocean Trailer Express Inc. and Sea-Land Freight Service Inc., most of the Y2K work is with inhouse software. Ship...