Water receded Tuesday from a massive lake cutting off the road north of the Southcentral Alaska city of Valdez following a series of avalanches that buried the Richardson Highway over the weekend, but 2,000 feet of roadway were still estimated submerged beneath up to 15 feet of water, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
Crews began clearing avalanche debris from mile 39 on Tuesday, north of Keystone Canyon. After they've finished clearing the area, DOT will fly another aerial reconnaissance over mile 39 to see if any portions of the hillside remain unstable, spokesperson Jeremy Woodrow said. DOT may need conduct more blasting to shake any additional snow that poses avalanche danger loose.
DOT plans to open the road from mile 19-42 once the area is deemed stable. There's no estimated date for when the road to Valdez will reopen -- and the city of Valdez has started taking bets.
2,000 feet of highway underwater
On Tuesday afternoon, water had receded around 500 feet from the Keystone Canyon, DOT spokesperson Jeremy Woodrow said, leaving some 2,000 feet of highway still sitting beneath 10 to 15 feet of water at the lake's deepest point.
The lake at mile 16 was created by two major avalanches that dammed the Lowe River, causing water to back up into the canyon. The river was first dammed by a natural avalanche, DOT statewide maintenance engineer Mike Coffey said during a Monday press conference, and a second avalanche triggered by DOT blasting further impounded the dam.
The lake complicates debris-clearing efforts, as the road is submerged from the north and flooding dangers from the south prohibit crews from beginning snow removal efforts. Snow on the roadway is estimated to be 40 feet deep and perhaps 1,500 feet long.
Temperatures appeared to be holding steady, and rain stopped falling on Tuesday afternoon, Woodrow said. "The weather looks cooperative for what we need to do," he said.
The city of Valdez set up a live feed monitoring the water flow Tuesday, and a flash flood watch is in effect until Wednesday afternoon, said Sheri Pierce, public information officer for city of Valdez.
The city also stationed a guard at the gates around mile 12 to prevent anyone from crossing a barricade sealing off the avalanche area. Two people were arrested Saturday while they attempted to walk over avalanche debris to Valdez, halting DOT blasting work for several hours.
The city remained well stocked with food and fuel. Matthew Ficek, manager at Safeway, the city's sole grocery store, said prices would not rise due to the road closure. "That would never happen," he said.
Fuel price fluctuations will likewise not be affected by the road closure. Bob Cox, vice president of Crowley petroleum, said that the city has enough fuel to last roughly 30 days. After that, it can be barged in if necessary.
Valdez resident John Flynn said that life in the small city is continuing as normal.
"The only thing it's really impacting is people who want to get into the mountains" to snowboard, Flynn said.
And while inconvenient, the avalanches may even be keeping people safe, Flynn said. Had the slides not occurred and blocked off the area, people would likely be out in the mountains snowboarding in dangerous conditions. "Everybody would have been out there doing their thing," Flynn said.
In that sense, the avalanches are "Mother Nature's little safety net," Flynn said.
Contact Laurel Andrews at laurel(at)alaskadispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter @Laurel_Andrews