Seward Highway Rock Slope Mitigation, Anchorage, Alaska
The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) retained CCI-LT to develop rockfall mitigation measures for seven rock slopes adjacent to the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. The highway has experienced safety concerns related to rockfall hazards since its construction in the 1990’s. Increased rockfall activity following earthquake events prompted the Agency to include four additional sites to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) project to reduce the risk to traveling public.

Our team assisted AKDOT&PF with several tasks including on-slope rope access evaluations to characterize rock slope conditions and rockfall potential, developing mitigation designs and producing PS&E documents. Mitigation designs were tailored to the character of each rock slope and included: general and heavy scaling, rock bolts and dowels, cable lashing and construction of rockfall attenuator and draped mesh systems. Our team also provided engineering during construction using our SPRAT-certified rope access team.
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CCI-LT’s, Ben George, testing rock bolts designed to stabilize an undermined rock block above the Seward Highway.
Project Highlights
We provided full-time construction inspection, including rope access services to assist with locating, installing, and testing rockfall mitigation elements. Design and construction efforts had to consider that AKDOT&PF required both lanes of traffic to be open during non-working hours. These restrictions reduced available temporary rockfall protection options. Concrete barrier mounted fence extension system on centerline allowed for a work zone to be established during working hours, while providing full two-way traffic during non-working hours.
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When rock removal was not a viable option, CCI-LT utilized cable lashing technique to stabilize displaced rock blocks on the slope.
​Owner:  Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF)
More Information: Alaska News - Blasting along Seward Highway