What's Happening Now
Gravel Trains operating May 2 to mid-October for 2011 season
Current gravel operations and their impact on traffic patterns
From mid-May through mid-October, Alaska Railroad gravel train movements will cause intermittent traffic delays at the C Street crossing (just north of the C Street and Raspberry Road intersection) in the late afternoon to early evening (roughly 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.), affecting evening rush hour traffic. Trains run five to seven days per week. Motorists may use Arctic Blvd as an alternate route to avoid delays.
The gravel train schedule is dictated in part by the requirements of an Anchorage noise ordinance. Traffic delays of up to 15 minutes can be expected as each train must move over the crossing several times.
Alaska Railroad gravel trains are also operating to other gravel customers on typical summer schedules. This includes gravel trains intermittently occupying the 104th and 100th Avenue crossings (just west of the 104th and 100th intersections with Old Seward Highway) during most afternoons.
Below is background about the Alaska Railroad's gravel operations in the Anchorage Bowl and Mat-Su Valley. This includes information on alternative routes to avoid traffic delays.
Background on Summer 2011 Gravel Operations
The Alaska Railroad currently operates gravel trains in support of three customers that produce rock material, including gravel. Rock material is mined in Mat-Su Valley and Birchwood locations and hauled into processing facilities in Anchorage. A train crew runs an empty gravel train from Anchorage to a customer’s Mat-Su or Birchwood mining/production facility, where conveyor systems load the gravel into the railroad’s hopper cars in about 3 hours. The train returns to Anchorage where the gravel train is unloaded in about 3-4 hours. The empty train then heads back to the Mat-Su or Birchwood, beginning a new 12-hour operating cycle.
Impacted Road/Rail Crossings
Three Anchorage and two Palmer area public road/rail crossings are impacted more often by gravel train activity because the crossings are located nearby a gravel production or processing facility. Nearly a mile long, gravel trains are often split into shorter segments while loading or unloading in order to accommodate traffic along highway crossings near the customer facility.
- C Street (Anchorage): ARRC operates one to two gravel trains per day, five to seven days per week, for a customer adjacent to C Street. City noise restrictions and the 12-hour gravel train cycle dictate the time the trains move over the crossing. When gravel demand requires two daily trains, the C Street crossing will be occupied intermittently in the morning (roughly 6am to 10am) and evening (6pm to 10pm). When a one train per day is required, the C Street crossing will be occupied intermittently in the late afternoon to early evening (3:30pm to 7:30 pm). This will occur around and during the evening rush hour (trains arrive in the area about 3:30-4:00 p.m. and leave the area 7:00-7:30 p.m.). Use Arctic Blvd as an alternate route.
- 104th Avenue (Anchorage): During the afternoons, expect gravel trains to move very slowly over the 104th crossing as unloading occurs. Use 100th Avenue or C Street as an alternate route.
- 100th Avenue (Anchorage): During the afternoons, expect gravel trains to travel over this crossing for short periods. This crossing is not affected by gravel unloading as is the case with 104th, so delays on 100th are shorter. Use C Street as an alternate route. It is highly unlikely that C Street will be occupied at the same time as 104th / 100th because they involve different gravel company operations.
- Outer Springer Loop (Palmer): Expect delays in the morning for gravel train loading. Use Inner Springer Loop as an alternate route.
- Grandview Road (Palmer): Expect short delays in the morning.
Gravel Scheduling
A number of factors influence gravel train scheduling:
Noise Ordinance: Some gravel/rock production facilities cannot unload gravel trains between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am due to a city noise ordinance. A daytime unloading schedule is used for these customers. A night-time unloading schedule may be used at facilities that are not subject to a noise ordinance. This day/night cycle is not always possible if one customer requires two gravel trains per day.
Passenger / Freight Train Schedules: Activity on the track increases in the summer with the addition of daily passenger and gravel trains, as well as work trains and heavy equipment used for track maintenance. Between South Anchorage and the Mat-Su area, up to 30 different types of train movements can occur on any given day. This poses a daily challenge, because changing the train movement schedule at one location directly impacts the time the same train passes through at another location. Gravel trains must frequently pull into sidings to allow other trains to pass. The Alaska Railroad strives to meet train customer needs, while minimizing negative impacts to the traveling public. Even so, some conflicts are inevitable and unavoidable.
Cost-efficiency: The capital cost to purchase one 86-car gravel train consist is about $9 million. To be cost-effective, it is essential for each gravel train to cycle twice per day. Inefficient single-cycle gravel operations would lead to higher costs to our customers and ultimately to the public consumers.
Gravel Economics
Gravel train activity signals economic activity. The Alaska Railroad expects to move just over 2.3 million tons of gravel in 2011. This compares to 2.6 million tons in 2010, 2.3 million tons in 2009 and 2.8 million tons in 2008. Similar to road construction, important capital projects can result in some inconvenience to the traveling public. The upshot is improved infrastructure and good-paying job opportunities for Alaskans.
Gravel hauled by the railroad supports road, airport and commercial construction. A typical gravel train consists of two SD70MAC locomotives pulling 86 hopper cars, and can haul about 8,600 tons of material. Train transport remains one of the most economical, least disruptive, and safest ways to move gravel. Hauling 2.5 million tons of material requires about 290 trains, which is roughly equivalent to about 96,000 26-ton truck loads (192,000 one-way truck trips).