Opinion: A better alternative to Ambler Road

No Ambler Road required. More economical and less environmentally damaging alternatives exist to mining in western Alaska.

The proposed Ambler Road would cross approximately 320 miles of ice-rich permafrost. The costs are enormous, even in dollar terms, and the irreparable damage to vast natural areas is also significant. Alternative roads, preferably railroads, are only about 80 miles long to the Bering Sea. This reduces net road construction by his 75%. As the climate continues to change, the amount of open water in the Bering Sea will continue to increase.

Developing mining areas in western Alaska by transporting products through the Bering Sea also helps grow communities in western Alaska, such as Nome. Recall that her two major cities, San Francisco and New Orleans, developed from the sea. Its identity was established even before it became connected to the rest of the United States. The Red Dog mine proved the concept of shipping via the Bering Sea. Red Dog is Alaska’s largest mine and one of the largest zinc and lead mines in the world. It is not connected by road to the rest of Alaska.

According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, the most economical and safest way to handle cargo is by water. For land transport, railways are the best option. Trucks use the most fuel and are not only the most expensive to operate, but also the most dangerous.

Problems with the proposed road include spawning streams, ice-rich permafrost, and asbestos exposure during road construction.

fish: The proposed Ambler Road would cut off many of the spawning streams for salmon and other fish such as crabs. This road includes land within the National Park Service Conservation Area of ​​Gates of the Arctic National Park. According to NPS, he has two options. Within the reserve, to carry water across the northern alignment he would need 5 bridges and 539 culverts, and in the southern alignment he would need 2 bridges and 317 culverts. Considering the total length of Ambler Road, the northern alignment would require 29 bridges and 2,903 culverts, and the southern alignment would require 25 bridges and 3,179 culverts. This will have a significant impact on salmon. Check out David Montgomery’s classic book, The King of Fish. Montgomery summarizes the loss of salmon in Europe, Scandinavia, and the East Coast of North America, even though people recognized the value of salmon habitat and tried to protect it.

Ice-rich frozen land: This road crosses icy permafrost. Permafrost contains irregular ice masses below the surface and is present along much of the route. Melting underground ice creates problems for both construction and maintenance. The ice is currently melting, and as the climate warms, the melting problem will accelerate. Once a road is built, it requires ongoing maintenance.

The seriousness of this is illustrated by the experience of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline. In 1970, Dr. Arthur Lachenbruck of the United States Geological Survey published USGS Circular 632, “Some Estimates of the Thermal Effects of Heated Pipelines in Permafrost.” Engineers working on the pipeline realized the impact of Lachenbruch’s announcement, and he halted construction of the pipeline for two years. During this time, they completely redesigned the project so that 80% of the pipeline was installed on vertical supports. The original design only required about 20% higher. (Stopping construction of this pipeline was a big deal, and environmentalists were to blame for the delay.)

When the original permafrost surface is altered by creating roadways, thawing is also accelerated. The late permafrost expert Professor Troy Pugh called this the “hot poker effect.”

asbestos: Asbestos is present along the route and can be disturbed by various construction activities. The best way to deal with asbestos is to leave it alone.

If you have mining products that need to be shipped from western Alaska, the most economical method is to use nearby global routes. Water transport is much cheaper than land transport. Also, the distance from the Ambler region to the ocean is only about 50 miles, not hundreds of miles. Overland routes would require construction and ongoing expensive maintenance, causing irreparable damage to valuable natural areas.

Nature has its own value. States with natural areas are proud of it. An example is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Sanctuary in Minnesota. Indeed, one of Alaska’s treasures is its great outdoors.

When I attended the hearing, it was clear that there were two groups. One deals with cash values ​​and talks about construction, maintenance, and “development” costs. The other group includes most of the First Nations people along the Ambler Road Project and will talk about the value of the land as they know it. This struggle has been going on since Europeans first came into contact with the peoples of the Western Hemisphere. Now that much land has been “developed,” there is a growing awareness of the value that can only be obtained from nature. Areas rich in nature are precious.

carl benson Professor Emeritus of Geophysics at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He lives in Fairbanks.

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