McCarthy Road partially reopened near Chitina after collapse

McCarthy Road has reopened to intermittent travel after being closed Monday near its start in Chitina due to a collapsed portion, Alaska transportation officials said.

The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said in a social media post that the road was closed Monday between Mile 0 and 1 due to “significant roadway subsidence.” Maintenance crews noticed the roadway settlement on Saturday morning, said John Perreault, a public information officer for the department’s northern region.

“It continued very quickly and closure was needed by Sunday evening,” Perreault said via email.

Crews were on site Monday, and the road was able to be opened that evening for a few hours, according to an alert on Alaska 511. On Tuesday, one lane was opened for daytime travel under traffic control, according to an updated post from the transportation department. The road is set to close again for the night at 8 p.m., and will open again to one-lane traffic at 9 a.m. Wednesday, the post said.

Drivers should expect extended delays while roadway repairs take place. They should check Alaska 511 for continued updates on the road’s status, the department said.

The transportation department is still assessing the cause of the road settlement, Perreault said, but it is not river washout or a landslide.

For now, he said material is being brought in to establish at least one lane of travel. Perreault said options for a long-term fix won’t be decided until the road is stabilized and the area can be examined more thoroughly.

The gravel McCarthy Road runs about 60 miles from the town of Chitina to just outside the town of McCarthy, about 225 miles east of Anchorage.