Ice Roads

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) has established a competitive program that enables communities to access funding for the development, maintenance, and operation of seasonal roads and ice roads. Funding is provided through the Surface Transportation Block Grant  authorized by 23 U.S.C. 133 or the Recreational Trails Program 23 U.S.C. 206, depending on resources, to support critical winter transportation connections across Alaska.

Many Alaska communities rely on winter trails, ice roads, and seasonal routes as their only means of overland travel during the colder months. These routes allow residents to reach jobs, food sources, medical services, community events, and cultural activities. Winter travel is also essential for accessing subsistence hunting grounds for many rural residents.

The Ice Roads & Seasonal Routes Program is designed to identify community needs through public outreach and involvement; evaluate and score eligible project nominations; and prioritize and select projects for funding. Once projects are awarded, next steps include planning and programming, environmental review, design, development, and financial closeout. DOT&PF planning staff are available to assist communities in preparing project nominations and throughout the life of selected projects.

Alaska’s tribes, cities, boroughs, and other local organized governments are eligible to nominate seasonal road and ice road projects for funding. The program places a strong emphasis on improving the safety of locally developed and maintained winter travel routes. All project nominations are evaluated and scored by an established board using program criteria.

All projects require a 10% local match. Successful awardees will submit reimbursement requests to DOT&PF for eligible costs.

Ice Road Design & Construction

University of Alaska Fairbanks's Institute of Northern Engineering has developed a Design & Operations Ice Road Manual and DOT&PF encourages all ice road operations and maintenance staff to review the document prior to ice road work. Please see the manual here.

• Manual Abstract: This manual provides for the safe and efficient design, construction, maintenance, and operation of ice roads over freshwater. As such, it provides the parties responsible for the ice road guidelines for ensuring the safe operation of the ice road including route selection, minimum ice thicknesses, repair strategies, maximum vehicle weights and speed, and proper signage. The information provided in the manual represents best practices compiled from existing literature and from those who have experience working on ice roads. While every scenario cannot be foreseen, the information contained in this manual should provide sufficient knowledge to extrapolate safe solutions which are not explicitly covered here.

Eligible activities include but are not limited to the following:

• Planning – Route planning, selecting operations level, determining signage requirements, determining equipment requirements
• Surveying – Manual surveying, GPR surveying
• Route Selection – Route selection, access points
• Ice Road Establishment – Preparing travel lanes, snow clearing, ice strengthening, surveying
• Signage – Construction signs, entry signs, regulatory and advisory signs      
• Monitoring – Visual inspection, surveying
• Maintenance – Repairing cracks, traffic control updating signage
• Administration – Controlling loads and speeds, safety, training. Not to be confused with administrative type activities.
• Shutdown – Close ice road to public use
• Snow Fencing – build temporary snow fencing to prevent snow drifting on the road

NOTE: The following are examples of ineligible activities but are not comprehensive of all ineligible activities under the Ice Roads & Seasonal Routes program: ground-disturbing maintenance work, work involving the water column, permanent trail markings on land, improvements to access the ice road outside of 300' of the waterway embankment, and undocumented project charges.

New Grader Strengthens Kuskokwim Ice Road Access to Tuntutuliak

January 29, 2026: DOT&PF recently transferred a surplus piece of equipment to the Village of Napaimute to support safe winter travel and strengthen regional access along the Kuskokwim River. The transfer includes a 2005 Caterpillar 140H grader, along with a Henke snowplow and wing, to be used for construction and maintenance of the Kuskokwim Ice Road serving Napaimute and neighboring communities.

Following the impacts of Typhoon Halong (2025), the region has placed an even greater focus on dependable routes for moving supplies, services, and people between communities. Winter routes like the Kuskokwim Ice Road help support the movement of goods and services during the months when overland access is limited—making safe, dependable travel more important than ever.

In an interview, Mark Leary, Kuskokwim Ice Road Director and Team Leader with Bethel Search and Rescue, described how the ice road is more than a seasonal route—it’s a lifeline. It supports winter travel, strengthens emergency response capability, and improves regional mobility for Western Alaska communities.

Leary explained that after years without a coordinated ice road system, local leadership worked to revive and strengthen the route. He noted that State of Alaska DOT&PF’s support has helped provide stability and long-term planning for the work, allowing crews to focus on safety and improving the quality of the road year after year.

As seen in video footage, the grader began working on January 29, 2026, helping crews expand and maintain this critical winter route. With this grader now dedicated to the effort, the ice road can be extended to Tuntutuliak—marking the first time a well-marked and maintained ice road will reach that community.

Ice Roads & Seasonal Routes Contact Information:

Rebecca Garrett
Frontier Roads and Sustainability Program Manager
rebecca.garrett@alaska.gov
907.223.4664

Awardee Resources