After Kinross decides to change Fairbanks route, state retreats from claims that downtown bridge couldn't handle ore haul trucks

The state Department of Transportation & Public Facilities—following a decision by Kinross to change the route through Fairbanks of its ore-hauling trucks through Fairbanks—has suddenly reversed its long-standing position and says it will support using the Steese Expressway.

The Dunleavy administration claims that a new analysis of the Steese Expressway bridge over the Chena River has led it to abandon its previous position that the ore-haul trucks should not be allowed on the downtown bridge.

There is reason to be skeptical of the timing and substance of this revelation by the Dunleavy administration.

It seems to be part of the Dunleavy directive to “Just Say Yes.”

In this case, that means Just Say Yes to Kinross trying to escape a legal confrontation on state regulations that ban the Kinross trucks from the Mitchell-Peger-Johansen route.

The state and Kinross have been claiming for the better part of two years that a loophole in the regulations allows the trucks on that route, but the switch to the new route is evidence that they know they are wrong.

It seems unlikely that Kinross would have announced this route change without getting an informal green light from the state.

I wrote about this topic in some detail Saturday.

The Mitchell-Peger-Johansen regulation is now irrelevant, Kinross says, because it decided some time ago to use the Steese Expressway instead, crossing the Chena River on a bridge that the state has insisted was not up to the task because of its age and complicated design.

Kinross says in court documents that “nothing prohibits the trucks from using this alternative route . . .”

The state has long insisted that the trucks cannot use the Steese Expressway route for safety reasons.

“We don’t let any permit loads go over this bridge,” chief state bridge engineer Leslie Daugherty said in a July 26 presentation about the Steese Expressway bridge over the Chena.

“It was made with a high-strength steel back in the ‘70s. Higher strength means less ductility. We just don’t want any, any permit or heavy ore loads on this bridge. It has weird details that makes it not have as much capacity because it’s got this curve in it. And so it doesn’t have straightforward loading. That’s all I’ll say about that,” Daugherty said.

She needs to say more about this now.

After learning that Kinoss filed court papers in November saying it will use the bridge that Daugherty said it was not allowed to use, I wrote DOT officials about the new route.

On Monday, a DOT spokeswoman replied: “The analysis for the ore haul vehicle was not completed until last week when the department received a copy of the actual truck weights. With this information, the department conducted the complex analysis, which confirms that the ore haul trucks may use the Steese Expressway Bridge #231.”

This is absurd.

The state has known the vehicle weights for months. The state is also claiming that a new expansion joint in the bridge, new transition rail and new polyester concrete surface “improved the load rating to allow heavier vehicles to cross the bridge.”

Those improvements took place before the chief bridge engineer said in July that the “heavy ore loads” should not be on that bridge.

“The department still prefers the Mitchell/Peger/Johansen truck route for the majority of trucking, due to the complex geometry of the Steese Highway Bridge #231, however, due to pending legal complaint, the ore haul trucks have decided to use the legal trucking route established for long combination vehicle, 17 AAC 25.014(c),” the department spokeswoman said.

I’ve asked the state to release the full analysis that led the state to reverse its position on this important matter and who asked for the review.

There is good reason to question why the state did not complete this analysis until after Kinross had already announced its decision. Or if Kinross and the state agreed in advance on this tactic.

After years of hearing from the state and Kinross that the Mitchell-Peger-Johansen route was safer for these trucks, the state’s lack of credibility is on full display.

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