KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Jennifer Canfield photos
Rezanof Drive between piers 2 and three has reopened. The road is clear and traffic is moving through without delay.
The quarter-mile stretch of road was closed before 10 a.m today due to rockslides that became more severe in the afternoon. DOT employees on the scene say they’d been intermittently monitoring the situation for the past few days. At times traffic was backed up to Dead Man’s Curve with long delays for those traveling to and from the Coast Guard Base, Bell’s Flats, or the airport.
Jennifer Canfield photos
Rezanof Drive between piers 2 and three has reopened. The road is clear and traffic is moving through without delay.
The quarter-mile stretch of road was closed before 10 a.m today due to rockslides that became more severe in the afternoon. DOT employees on the scene say they’d been intermittently monitoring the situation for the past few days. At times traffic was backed up to Dead Man’s Curve with long delays for those traveling to and from the Coast Guard Base, Bell’s Flats, or the airport.
KMXT’s Jay Barrett was on the scene when one of the larger rockslides occurred.
"The dust that it’s stirred up right now. Huge boulders but a lot of loose gravel as well. I didn’t see anything make the water but there are huge rocks coming down. Traffic if backed up on the out of town side, the west side, including at least on school bus."
Police Chief T.C. Kamai says the city has a plan for emergency service when something like this happens.
"We did allow one emergency vehicle to get through this morning while we had the road closed to the general public. Normally arrangements are made at the fire department level if they need an ambulance or things like that. The fire departments on that side are able to provide services until the city ambulance can get there. Fortunately there was no need for an ambulance on that side of town."
This morning 13 members of Kodiak High School’s baseball team were on their way to the airport for an 11:10 flight when they learned of the closure. The team was on its way to the conference tournament in Kenai. Coach Rick Langfitt says they waited for two hours before learning that Era wasn’t able to hold their flight any longer and had departed. The team is scheduled to leave on a flight late tonight. Langfitt said the inconvenience was just part of life in Kodiak.
Five Department of Transportation employees monitored the area until about 5 p.m. Caution is advised to those traveling through the area.
