The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel to Whittier was closed for nearly three hours Sunday, March 11 after a Mercedes station wagon ran into the curve and hit the side of the tunnel in mid-morning. The two passengers complained of neck and back pain, and an ambulance from the Girdwood Fire Department was called to the scene to transport the couple to Providence Hospital. The tunnel opening was delayed further while tunnel crews waited for a tow truck from Anchorage to respond.
Gordon Burton, the facility manager, said an initial call to Alyeska Towing was made, but the company no longer provides local service from Girdwood. Burton said they could have used a front-end loader on-site to move the car, but that would have caused further damage to the vehicle.
“In that particular situation, the amount of traffic was fairly slow, and we weren’t aware there wasn’t a local towing company available,” he said.
In the future, vehicles stuck in the tunnel may have to be removed by the loader, Burton said. “I’m certainly going to discuss this with the supervisors,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to do it, but it may be an option.”
The tunnel closed around 10:30 a.m. and reopened at 1:35 p.m.
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On March 7, the 2007 Science Fair was held at Girdwood School. Students from kindergarten through eighth grade participated in this event, which is an important part of the science curriculum. Eighty-one science experiments with titles like “Duct Tape Challenge,” “Pools and Riffles,” and "Electromagnetic Strength” were displayed in the multipurpose room.
Students demonstrated knowledge of the scientific method of problem solving, while enthusiastically ex-plaining their projects to community volunteers. They answered such questions as "What is your hypothesis?" and "What conclusions did you draw from your results?"
Honorable mention ribbons were awarded to projects the interviewers felt were especially well organized and thought out. The following students received honorable mention ribbons: Frances Carlisle, Susannah Doepken, Noah Malecha, Preston Epley, Gillian Sweda-Mittlestadt, Elliot Morris, Terek Rutherford, Kelsey Fox, Stuart Perry, Tyler Crozier, Jaclyn Johnson, Dylan Fox, Gabrielle Markel, Alex Graham, and Carmen Graves.
The office of Project Management and Permitting is accepting written comments of consistency with the Alaska Coastal Zone Management Program on project titled: Whittier Boat Harbor Improvements, State ID# AK 0703-03AA. Comments due on or before April 5, 2007. Contact Jim Renkert, Project Review Coordinator, Alaska Coastal Management Program, OPMP, 550W. Seventh Ave., Suite 705 Anchorage, AK 99501. Phone: 907.269.0029, Fax: 907.269.3981. Email: jim_renkert@dnr.state.ak.us.Web site:http://www.alaskacoast.state.ak.us/
The project is undertaken to safely berth the existing vessels that use the harbor. The proposed project would consist of removing and replacing the harbor floats and float piles; reducing the number of gangways from two to one; removing the West harbor Launch Ramp, reconfiguring the East Harbor Launch Ramp to increase capacity; place a 1,000’ long open cell sheet pile retaining wall along the south side of the harbor; dredge the south slope of the harbor basin to 12’ mean lower low water, removing approximately 40,000 cubic yards of material.
A complete copy of the project packet is available for review and copying at the City of Whittier, P.O. Box 608, Whittier, AK 99693