Fall storm washes out Shishmaref road

Strong winds and high water pummeled Alaska’s northwest coast during a Bering Sea storm earlier this month, causing extensive erosion along the coastline. Though the weather event itself is long over, the community of Shishmaref is still grappling with the damage created by the storm.

“It was a real strong surge,” said Shishmaref resident Tyler Ivanoff. He said that on the east end of town the water nearly reached the old airport, the “highest it’s gotten in a while.” The storm surge led to shoreline and road erosion. According to the Alaska Department of Transportation, a portion of the Sanitation Road was damaged. About 2,215 feet of the road, which connects the village to its dump and sewage lagoon, was damaged. The extent of the erosion ranges from partial to total washout. According to Ivanoff, portions of the road protected by the seawall were safe, but the unprotected portions of the road are completely gone.

Ivanoff said the most pressing issue for the community is the Sanitation Road, because people need to be able to haul their waste. There is currently a trail around the damaged areas of the dump road, but this is a temporary solution. The proximity of the waste lagoon to the ocean is also a worry. Ivanoff said that during the storm the ocean was nearly reaching the lagoon. A concern is to make sure that waste —both sewage and trash —is contained so it does not wash into the ocean.

A DOT spokesperson said the Department is working with several agencies, including the City of Shishmaref and the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, to secure funding for permanent repairs to the Sanitation Road. If they are able to get funding, repairs likely will not occur for several months, until the ground thaws in the summer.

While Shishmaref was hit relatively hard by the storm, Golovin was mostly spared even though the sea rose about nine feet higher than normal near the community. Golovin Mayor Charlie Brown said that the surge was not bad enough to cause any substantial erosion or damage. He explained that they were watching the storm closely because the community has been “on its toes” about surges impacting the power plant. Brown explained that the concern is that strong winds of 50 to 60 miles per hour will push the water up onto the land and impact the plant. It has come to the point that if nothing is done to protect the plant, such as barricade it, it will be flooded.

Both Ivanoff and Brown voiced the need for funding to build infrastructure such as seawalls. Water entering the sewage lagoon or the power plant could be catastrophic, so both Ivanoff and Brown said it is important to take preventative and protective measures.

Nome also experienced impacts of the storm. DOT Spokesperson Caitlin Frye said that three to four sections of the Nome Council Road were damaged. She said that the road is currently passable. “DOT&PF’s maintenance forces responded to several of these sections primarily removing debris from the roadway to reestablish access along the route,” Frye wrote. The road is not maintained from October to May, so no permanent repairs will take place this season. However, DOT is working to secure funding for road work next summer.