Over Hill, Over Dale, These Engineers Build a Trail
By Master Sgt. Ron Holbrook and Sgt. Jean Craft
Special to the American Forces Press Service
CAMP WY WUH, Alaska, Sept. 20, 2000 -- A joint task force of
Army and National Guard engineers, Navy Seabees and Marines is
taking on a literally mountainous task here on remote Annette
Island.
The men, women and machines are engaged in Operation Alaskan
Road. Their work schedule calls for some of the toughest
construction in the most rugged terrain they have ever
encountered.
Alaskan Road is a seven-year, $33 million project to build 14.8
miles of paved two-lane road with no more than a 7 percent
grade. That makes road building on Annette a tremendous
challenge because hills with original grades of 100 percent or
more are common. A 45-degree slope equals a 100 percent grade.
When finished, the road must meet federal highway standards.
Standing on a rise 50 feet above the future roadway, Lt. Col.
Jerry West, commander of the operation, was pleased with what he
saw. He has worked on the project almost since the day it
started in March 1998. He was operations officer the first two
years and took over as commander earlier this year.
"We have made some good progress this year and expect to meet or
exceed all our goals," West said. "We are right on target
despite all the obstacles.
"The first time I saw this area, I thought, 'Wow, we have got
some learning curve here.' But we have received good assistance
from Dan Reid of the Federal Highway Administration. He has
built this type of road before," he said. "The real key to our
success has been our rotational troops that come in here. They
have done great work.
"This is definitely the most ambitious building project the
Missouri National Guard has ever undertaken," West said.
The military is scheduled to finish its part of the project in
2005. He said federal or state government agencies would then
hire contractors to put in the paving, striping, guard rails,
permanent bridges and other remaining roadwork.
West is from the Missouri Army National Guard 35th Engineer
Brigade headquarters at Fort Leonard Wood, where much of the
year-round exercise planning is done. The brigade is leading the
project.
Operation Alaskan Road will fulfill a government promise made
more than 50 years ago to Metlakatla, Alaska's last Indian
reservation. The government pledged to build a main supply route
from Metlakatla village to the other side of the island. A ferry
terminal to be built at the end of the road will link the island
with Saxman City and nearby Ketchikan.
The road and ferry will give Metlakatla residents year-round
access to markets, banks, and medical and educational
facilities. The community also hopes the new Walden Point Road,
as it will be named, will bring tourists and businesses to the
town of 1,850 people.
"Metlakatla" means "calm channel" in the Tsimpshian Indian
language. The name is misleading. During the winter, the island
community is sometimes completely isolated for a week or more at
a time because high seas and winds shut down seaplane and ferry
service.
During this year's April-to-September construction season, the
task force expects to complete 3.2 miles. The engineers built
about 2.5 miles of roadbed.
"We will have a footprint of about 5.5 miles of the road at the
end of our construction. We started on the hardest part first,"
said Maj. Marie Bennett, operations officer for the road-
building project. "This is excellent training, a once-in-a-
lifetime experience for our soldiers. We will train almost 1,700
soldiers this year in a very challenging, austere environment."
When new rotations arrive, they train one-on-one with the
permanent party during the first week to become familiar with
the heavy equipment. Safety is the project's No. 1 priority,
Bennett said. In three years, the task force hasn't had a
serious accident, despite the dangerous terrain with steep drop-
offs.
The road-building process begins with surveying, then blazing a
trail through the dense Tongass National Forest, which covers
most of Annette Island. After clearing a path, engineers remove
obstacles and burn deadwood. Then, they drill, blast and grade
the roadbed to the desired level.
If visitors and soldiers have time to look, Annette Island has
scenic vistas right out of a travel brochure. Snow-capped
mountain peaks form a majestic backdrop to the roadwork. The
bright blue waters of Hemlock Bay can be seen from some of the
construction areas.
"This is really good training for our soldiers. Some of the best
training ever for us," said Company C's 1st Sgt. David See, a
29-year veteran of the Guard. He is a science teacher at Benton
County IX High School in Warsaw, Mo.
The soldiers have nicknamed the 84,000-acre island "the rock"
for obvious reasons. The land is rocky and the work is hard. But
the troops remain enthusiastic about training in Alaska.
"I think it is a good thing we are building this road for these
people," said Spc. Jennifer Shepherd, Company C, 110th Engineer
Battalion, Lexington, Mo. "It will improve their lives and make
it much easier for them."
This year, Guard and Reserve engineer units from Missouri,
Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Hawaii and Guam moved 166,798
tons of rock and muskeg, a soft peat-like substance. Navy
Seabees operate large core drills to cut holes in the rocks for
blasting. They estimated they drilled nearly 46,000 linear feet
this year.
"This has been a great production year," operations officer
Bennett said. The Army's 84th Engineer Combat Battalion crushed
45,825 tons of rock, which is used for fill areas on the road.
"That's enough to last us for the next two years," she said.
Muskeg is just one of the many obstacles soldiers face in
Alaska. It turns "soupy" when wet, so troops have to remove it
completely and fill in the resulting holes. The rain and winds
also challenge troops, as rainfall is 10 to 13 inches a month.
The island is also an environmentally sensitive area, so
soldiers must take extra precautions. Bennett spoke of a 15,000-
ton boulder in the path of road work. "We need to drill and
blast it, but we can't because an eagle's nest is nearby," she
said.
The Guard works closely with the Fish and Wildlife Service to
protect these symbols of American freedom. Anytime construction
gets within 500 feet of an eagle's nest, work halts in that
area, she said.
The rocky terrain also challenges the maintenance crews.
Sometimes they replace 20 heavy equipment tires in a single day.
Mechanics in the task force's complete maintenance facility
rebuild motors on-site rather than ship them off.
The task force base camp, Camp Wy Wuh, was named by Metlakatlan
school children. In English, it means "let's go," an appropriate
challenge for the camp support team. The camp supports up to 305
personnel per rotation, generates its own electricity and has
its own laundry. An Army water purification unit produces 7,500
gallons of purified drinking water a day. Everything supporting
the base camp arrives by boat, including heavy bulldozers and
graders. The operation uses 1,700 gallons of diesel fuel a day.
During Operation Alaskan Road's first three years, about 4,500
service members have trained in construction, maintenance, boat
transportation, dining facility management, personnel
administration, medical, safety, water purification and law
enforcement.
"I wish you could be here to see this place come alive at 4
a.m.," said Lt. Col. Dwight Hudspeth, a former Marine known for
getting people fired up. "We have a slogan here: '80 degrees and
sunshine.' Yeah, that's what it is today. It might be raining
again or windy. But these troops keep on going through it.
"They think we motivate them, but their spirit is so uplifting
to us. They motivate us. They are the reason why we have been so
successful."
West said the Annette Island training is realistic, and that's
why soldiers like it.
"Every unit that comes in here makes a contribution and walks
away very proud of what they accomplished."
(Master Sgt. Ron Holbrook is assigned to the 70th Mobile Public
Affairs Detachment, Missouri Army National Guard, and Sgt. Jean
Craft is assigned to the State Area Command, Missouri Army
National Guard Headquarters.)
| Navy Seabee Petty Officer 3rd class Sara
Hendrickson of Gulfport, Miss., takes a break from drilling rock
on Annette Island, Alaska. Hendrickson is taking part in
Operation Alaskan Road, a seven-year, $33 million project to
build 14.8 miles of paved road on the remote island. When
complete, the road will link the Metlakatla Indian reservation
and a terminal with ferry service to the mainland.
| | A Missouri Army National Guard engineer smooths a
roadbed on Annette Island, Alaska. The Missouri Army National
Guard is one segment of the joint task force Operation Alaskan
Road, a seven-year, $33 million project to build 14.8 miles of
paved road on the remote island. When complete, the road will
link the Metlakatla Indian reservation and a terminal with ferry
service to the mainland.
| | Missouri Army National Guard engineers inspect a
roadbed on Annette Island, Alaska. The Missouri Army National
Guard is one segment of the joint task force Operation Alaskan
Road, a seven-year, $33 million project to build 14.8 miles of
paved road on the remote island. When complete, the road will
link the Metlakatla Indian reservation and a terminal with ferry
service to the mainland.
| | A resident of the Metlakatla village on Annette
Island, Alaska, performs a traditional dance for military
visitors. Members of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Army
National Guard have been on the island since 1998, the first
year of Operation Alaskan Road, a seven-year, $33 million
project to build 14.8 miles of paved road on the remote island.
When complete, the road will link the Metlakatla Indian
reservation and a terminal with ferry service to the mainland.
| |
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