Susitna River ice dam cancels trains

TALKEETNA -- The 2002 breakup continued to frustrate Alaskans last week when ice clogged the Susitna River north of Talkeetna, backed the river up and stopped operations along the Alaska Railroad. The track damage occurred Wednesday, May 15, and Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) officials said the line was repaired, and operations were restored by the morning of May 17.

The ice dams repeatedly backed the river up even while crews were trying to repair the track. Work in the area -- along a three-mile stretch of track between Chase and Sherman -- had to yield to a rising river more than once, according to ARRC spokesman Patrick Flynn.

"It was a pretty tricky piece of work, and we're keeping a close eye on it," Flynn said.

An ice dam just north of Talkeetna caused ice to back-up for about 10 miles upriver. Water backed up against the railroad track and made about 800 feet of it impassable.

The rising river washed out some sections of the ballast and shoved the track out of alignment. Ballast is the gravel fill at the end of railroad ties. It's built into the railroad bed to prevent the tracks from drifting out of alignment. Crews restored track alignment, replaced the ballast and placed rip-rap along the embankment to prevent it from eroding further. Track reconstruction materials and maintenance crews were staged at Talkeetna for the job.

This was the railroad's most significant damage due to flooding in more than a decade, according to Flynn.

"We had a big flood in '89 that did significant damage, and I don't think we've had anything this big since," he said.

Two passenger trains were canceled, including the first run of the season for the ARRC's Denali Star. Two other Denali Star trains were run with limited service. Northbound trains stopped at Talkeetna where passengers boarded motor coaches for the remainder of their trip to Denali or Fairbanks. The southbound train from Fairbanks stopped at Denali and returned to Fairbanks.

On Friday, May 17, Flynn said trains were able to run the complete line and both freight and passenger schedules were returning to normal. Operations were normal over the weekend, with the exception of one Denali Star trip that was interrupted on Sunday due to a wildfire between Denali and Fairbanks. Passengers on that train were taken around the fire area by motor coach, according to Flynn.