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DOT&PF / Southcoast Region / Projects / King Cove to Cold Bay Road Project / FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The King Cove to Cold Bay Road project is an approximately 18.9-mile, single-lane gravel road that would connect the community of King Cove to the all-weather airport in Cold Bay, Alaska. The project is currently state-funded.
King Cove is not connected by road to any other community. Travel in and out depends on small aircraft and marine transport, both of which are frequently affected by severe weather. The road would give King Cove residents an overland route to the Cold Bay airport, which is a paved, all-weather runway served by several air carriers.
King Cove is a community of about 760 people near the western tip of the Alaska Peninsula. King Cove and Cold Bay are not currently connected by road. The proposed 18.9-mile road would be the connecting segment between them. The full trip from King Cove to Cold Bay Airport would use this new segment along with existing roads.
It is designed as a single-lane gravel road with a 13-foot driving surface. The design includes approximately 113 intervisible turnouts for safety, approximately 93 drainage structures, and one bridge.
Construction is being built in phases over multiple seasons: material preparation and stockpiling, haul-road construction, completion of the first approximately three miles of public road, and then the remaining connection. See Project Updates for the latest.
The project has been the subject of extensive federal environmental review, including analysis of its effects on the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and the species that depend on it. DOT&PF is committed to responsible design that respects the ecological significance of this area. The road is designed to avoid and minimize impacts, including through drainage structures that maintain drainage and downstream water quality, and designs that support fish passage.
The project crosses nine fish streams using culverts and a bridge, and includes eight culverts specifically designed for aquatic organism passage. With those designs and other mitigation measures, effects on fish streams are anticipated to be negligible.
Yes. Local hire is a priority for the project. More than 20 King Cove residents have completed safety training and earned DOT&PF certificates, and five additional community members have earned their commercial driver's licenses.
In 1998, Congress funded a hovercraft link between King Cove and Cold Bay as an alternative to a road. The hovercraft ran from 2007 to 2010, when the Aleutians East Borough suspended service, citing higher-than-anticipated costs, lower-than-anticipated revenue, and operational limits related to freezing temperatures, wind, and wave height.
graphic text: Learn More
The King Cove to Cold Bay Road has been decades in the making, rooted in the needs of a remote community on the Alaska Peninsula seeking reliable access to emergency medical care. What began as a community's call for a safe connection to Cold Bay has grown into a major infrastructure project, carried forward by the persistence of local leaders, tribal advocates, and state and federal partners. Explore the pages below to learn more.

Overview

History

Documents

Project Updates

Contact