Maintenance & Operations

Overview

Welcome to your online resource for information on the programs and activities of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Maintenance and Operations. The Statewide Maintenance and Operations Chief is responsible for the development, implementation, and coordination of maintenance and operations activities, policies and procedures. He is the primary contact for statewide highway, airport, and buildings maintenance and operational issues. The Statewide Maintenance and Operations Chief is also responsible for oversight of the State Equipment Fleet and the Transportation Management and Security Section which includes emergency management, integrated vegetation management, and the heavy equipment training program. He also has responsibility for management of the Federal Highway Administrations (FHWA) Preventative Maintenance and the Federal Aviation's (FAA) Minor Airport Surface Improvements Programs within the department.





DOT&PF Anti-Icing Program Overview

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Challenge

The Department’s Maintenance and Operations personnel are responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the State’s transportation system. This includes the safe and efficient maintenance and operation of over 5600 miles of state owned roadways, 249 rural airports, 845 bridges and 720 State owned and/or managed buildings. Maintenance personnel are stationed at 79 maintenance facilities across the State ranging from Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska to Barrow on the north-slope to Adak in the Aleutian Islands.

Alaska’s transportation system lies within one of the most extreme and challenging environments on the planet. Alaska is a land of extremes with temperatures ranging from 100F to -80F, snowfalls as high as 974 inches of snow at Thompson Pass, and 80% of the State is under laid by ice-rich permafrost. Maintenance activities are conducted in a geographically diverse climate ranging from maritime to arctic.

Organization & Responsibilities

Maintenance and Operations forces are organized geographically within three Regions (Southcoast, Central, and Northern). There are three regional M&O managers, one in Anchorage (Central Region), Fairbanks (Northern Region), and Juneau (Southcoast Region). They supervise the maintenance activities of their regions and report to their respective regional directors.

Maintenance and operation responsibilities include all the activities to keep our State’s highways, bridges, airports, buildings and harbors in good condition and safe for the traveling public. These include highway and airport anti-icing and deicing, snowplowing, snow hauling, avalanche control and mitigation, vegetation management, guardrail repair, sign maintenance, street/traffic light repair, drainage structures, fence maintenance, airport light repair, airport rescue and firefighting, airport security, and facility repairs. It also includes responding to all emergency/weather related situations such as snow and ice removal, fallen trees, mud and landslides, and roadway/airport flooding.

Technologies used

The department utilizes modern technologies and advancements to effectively and efficiently manage the State's transportation infrastructure. Maintenance personnel utilize 63 Road Weather Information System (RWIS) stations to improve the timeliness of maintenance actions, like when to snowplow or apply anti-icing/de-icing chemicals on the highways and airports. The department employs a robust anti-icing program in order to proactively combat the effects of snow and ice. In addition, an automatic bridge deicing system was installed on the Glenn Highway to address a historical bridge icing problem. The department also utilizes a state-of-the-art High Accuracy Differential Global Positioning System on several of its snowplows and snowblowers in the Thompson Pass area. This system provides a head-up-display in the equipment that provides a virtual view of the highway. This allows our Thompson Pass personnel to clear snow in total whiteout conditions with zero visibility.