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Articles by Bill Ward
Alcan road trip
We just drove up the Alaska Highway after picking up a vehicle in the lower 48. We've been making these Alcan trips for over 50 years and have witnessed many changes along the highway. It was an enjoyable, pretty drive through Canada on good to excellent roads with wildlife viewing and nice accommodations. The Canadian Highway Department is doing a good job benefiting both commerce and travelers with their workmanship.
Alcan road trip follies
To the editor: We just drove up the Alaska Highway after picking a vehicle in the Lower 48. We’ve been making these Alcan trips for over 50 years and have witnessed many changes along the highway. It was an enjoyable, pretty drive through Canada on good to excellent roads with wildlife viewing and nice accommodations. The Canadian Highway Department is doing a good job benefiting both commerce and travelers with their workmanship.
Flashing hazard lights on trucks are a hazard
We are seeing more and more Kinross ore trucks on the highway between Fairbanks and Tok traveling day and night. What is peculiar about those truck is they're traveling with flashing orange hazard lights front and rear. Those flashing lights are neither required by law nor appropriate. Flashing hazard lights on the highways have a distinct purpose, and that is to warn traffic of existing or potential dangers.
Keep the use of flashing hazard lights to a legitimate need
To the editor: We are seeing more and more Kinross ore trucks on the highway between Fairbanks and Tok traveling day and night. What is peculiar about those truck is they’re traveling with flashing orange hazard lights front and rear. Those flashing lights are neither required by law nor appropriate. Flashing hazard lights on the highways have a distinct purpose and that is to warn traffic of existing or potential dangers.
Military convoy dangers
On December 6th, only one day of snow was forecast between Fairbanks and Delta Junction with an expected accumulation for 3-4". Even knowing those predictions, the military decided to flood the Richardson Highway with convoys. I left early that morning headed for Fairbanks and immediately fell in behind one of the convoys. I and the rest of that morning’s traffic followed behind in the blowing snow for miles averaging about 30-35 mph.
Military convoys are a road hazard we don't need
To the editor: On Dec. 6, only one day of snow was forecast between Fairbanks and Delta Junction, with an expected accumulation for 3-4 inches. Even knowing those predictions, the military decided to flood the Richardson Highway with convoys. I left early that morning headed for Fairbanks and immediately fell in behind one of the convoys. I and the rest of that morning traffic followed behind in the blowing snow for miles, averaging about 30-35 mph.
Legacy bridges are being ignored
It's come to my attention that at the recent Transportation Advisory Committee meeting there was little or no discussion on the status of the three Legacy bridges other than noting that the DOT bridge division has determined that all three bridges, the Gerstle, the Johnson, and the Robertson can withstand heavy long combination vehicle loads despite what the design load and inventory loads indicate. So, that's final, huh, no way to argue with or challenge a professional engineer.
Kinross is misrepresenting facts
To the editor: The representative picture of an ore truck that Kinross provided at the DOT TAC meeting and used in the News-Miner article is both incorrect and misleading. The pictured truck is a Canadian grain hauler, not a rock truck. It is 82 feet long, not the 95-foot Kinross truck. It has eight axles, not the 16 axles on a Kinross truck. It can weigh about 110,000 pounds, not the 165,000 pounds for a Kinross truck. Kinross is flagrantly misrepresenting their intentions to the public.
OPINION: Alaska highway safety should trump politics
It’s clear that Gov. Mike Dunleavy supports Kinross/Contango’s development of a gold mine at Tetlin and the transport of the raw ore to the Ft. Knox mill north of Fairbanks using the public highway system. It’s also a fact that the Permanent Fund Division has invested in Contango, meaning the State of Alaska has a vested interest in the gold mine. To help ensure the success of the project, Gov.
Hold accountable all connected with Kinross/Contango ore hauling
To the editor: It’s clear that Gov. Mike Dunleavy supports Kinross/Contango’s development of a gold mine at Tetlin and the transport of raw ore to the Fort Knox mill using the public highway system. It’s also a fact that the Permanent Fund Corporation has invested in Contango, meaning the State of Alaska has a vested interest in the gold mine. The ore trucks will have an unimpeded use of the highway system from Tok through Fairbanks to Fort Knox.
OPINION: Alaska shouldn’t steer infrastructure funds to benefit a mining company
The State of Alaska will benefit greatly from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021. Over the next five years, Alaska is expected to receive roughly $3.5 billion in highway funding and $225 million to address 140 “structurally deficient” bridges.
Area bridges get priority care if on a mining cargo route
Fast Track Bridges The State of Alaska will benefit greatly from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021. Over the next five years Alaska is expected to receive roughly $3.5 billion in highway funding and $225 million to address 140 "structurally deficient" bridges.
Military Convoys
The community of Delta Junction is stranded. First, we lost our grocery store forcing us to travel to Fairbanks for most of our food. Now we have lost the Richardson Highway to the military who has taken it over for convoy transports. For the next two weeks or more the military has announced that there will be military convoys and/or supply vehicles traveling between Fairbanks and Delta, apparently with absolutely no consideration for civilian traffic.
Kinross Ore Transportation Plan - A Critical Review
Some things are happening about which every Delta Junction resident should be concerned. Kinross, the foreign owned company that operates the Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks, is developing two new open pit mines on leased land near Tok from the Tetlin Village. In public presentations Kinross indicates that beginning in 2024 they plan to transport 5,000 tons of raw ore each and every day using commercial trucks on our essential public highways between Tok and Fort Knox.
Concerned about transportation plan
I attended the Kinross community presentation in Delta Tuesday the 15th regarding the Manh Choh mine project at Tetlin Village. I had the opportunity to speak and openly identified myself as a critic of their Ore Transportation Plan and expressed some of my concern. Unfortunately I didn't speak about a critical safety concern that was on everyone's mind, the dangers of long double trucks on the road when it's snowing like is was that evening. I would like to share facts that nobody can dispute.
The carrot and the stick
To the editor: We are being told that to beat the pandemic of COVID-19 we need to reach a herd immunity of 70% plus by implementing a nationwide vaccination program. An aggressive campaign is trying to convince everyone to get vaccinated as soon as vaccines become available. The carrot being offered is that this is the only way we can return to normal and get our lives and economy back.
COVID-19 vaccine distribution priority
To the editor: The CDC has published its recommended priority list for those who should get the first COVID-19 vaccine. On their priority list 1a the vaccine first goes to health workers and residents of extended care facilities. After that it will be provided to list 1b, people classified as essential workers, which makes up almost all the current workers in Alaska. List 1c follows later with the elder >65 and those with compromised health conditions. Read it on the CDC website.
Murkowski and the court
To the editor: Sen. Lisa Murkowski has done irreparable harm to Alaska with her stated position opposing President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court before election day. She knows if Biden wins, Alaska’s economy will suffer due to the Democrats’ policy platform on the environment, oil drilling, resource extraction and government control. There is no way Biden will be capable or feel compelled to reward Murkowski for this action.
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