DOT requests $1.5M for Tudor Road overpass repairs

The Alaska Department of Transportation has asked the state for $1.5 million dollars to pay for repairs to the damaged Tudor Road bridge running over the Seward Highway in Anchorage.

Crews from Sandstrom and Sons have been working 24 hours a day since

a dump truck, driving northbound on the Seward Highway, plowed into the Tudor overpass bridge early in the morning of Jan. 3 while its bed was raised.

Shannon McCarthy, a spokesperson for DOT, says the $1.5 million figure to replace a damaged girder is just a request at this point and the eventual figure “could come in a lot less or it could come in over.”

The truck was driven by a private operator, McCarthy said she is working to confirm which company was involved in the crash before releasing that information publicly. The state government “will make a claim against their insurance, we have to recoup some of this funding for the people of the state,” said McCarthy.

#Anchorage #SewardHighway Jan. 6 UPDATE: DOT&PF and contractor Sandstrom and Sons are currently working around the clock to remove the girder damaged in the Jan. 3 dump truck crash. Equipment was mobilized to the site yesterday, Jan. 5 and two cranes assembled last night to assist with the removal. Work has included installing a crib to support the west half of the girder, and drilling the concrete in order to secure it for removal. Please continue to use alternative NB routes to reduce commute time and congestion in the area (Southbound traffic is not affected and you may continue to use the SB Seward Highway). Commuters using Tudor Road should be alert to new traffic patterns, lane restrictions, and speed reductions. Repairs will continue into the week and we'll post more updates as they develop.
Posted by Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities on Sunday, January 6, 2019

Despite the cold, crews worked Sunday to install a crib to support the west half of the girder. Up above, workers drilled through the concrete to secure the girder for removal.

The damaged overpass has echoes of when an

18-wheeler crashed into an Eagle River overpass

, paralyzing the Glenn Highway for several days.

McCarthy said that the attorney general’s office is currently working to secure a settlement with Bighorn Enterprises’ insurance company to pay for the Glenn Highway crash.

The repairs to the Tudor Road overpass are expected to take several days and officials ask drivers to be alert to new traffic patterns, lane restrictions and speed reductions. If the area can be avoided, drivers should avoid it, said McCarthy.