Transportation

A landslide in Sitka early Monday afternoon stranded people on either end of the road system for about eight hours, but otherwise there no reports of damage or injuries.

A rockslide early this morning near the north end of Skagway’s largest cruise dock will close the railroad dock for the rest of the day, the dock’s operator said in a statement.

Summer is the busy season for marine research in the waters of Western Alaska, and that means plenty of ship traffic through the Port of Nome. One such ship is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel Fairweather, which recently made a third stop in Nome during a mission to map the ocean floor. 

A longtime Southeast resident is taking over one of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ regional offices.

A cruise ship in Southeast Alaska cut its anchor free Sunday to release a humpback whale tangled in the ship’s anchor chain. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said numerous whales were bubble net feeding in Holkham Bay near Tracy Arm, about 45 miles south of Juneau early Sunday morning.

A rockslide near Skagway’s largest cruise ship dock Saturday didn’t injure anyone. But it drew attention to the potential danger of an active slide area neighboring a bustling port.

During a visit from the country’s head of transportation, Alaskans got news that one of the most trafficked roads in the state is a step closer to improvements that have been 40 years in the making.

Coast Guard Petty Officer John-Paul Rios said responders have removed almost 16,000 gallons of oil and sludge from the F/V Akutan, which is moored in Captains Bay.

Mike Coffey’s 35 years with the state gives him a longtime perspective on state roads, highways and airports. He’s retiring at the end of August.

The judge gave the federal prosecutor 60 days to consider whether to pursue the death penalty. The defendant, Kenneth Manzanares of Santa Clara, Utah, pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge in the death of his wife, Kristy.