Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is a department within the government of Alaska.^[1] Its headquarters are in Alaska's capital city, Juneau. The mission of Alaska DOT&PF is to "Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure."

The Alaska Department of Transportation was established on July 1, 1977, by Alaska Highway Commissioner Walter Parker during the administration of Governor Jay Hammond.^[2] The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities merged the former departments of Highways and Public Works. It was created on July 1, 1977. When Governor Hammond took office in 1975, he appointed Walter Parker as Commissioner of Highways and Donald Harris as Public Works Commissioner.

Alaska DOT&PF designs, constructs, operates and maintains the state’s transportation infrastructure systems, buildings, and other facilities used by Alaskans and visitors. These include more than 5,600 miles of paved and gravel highways; more than 300 aviation facilities, including 235 rural airports and 2 international airports (Fairbanks International Airport and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport); 21 harbors; and a ferry system covering 3,500 nautical miles serving 35 coastal communities.^[3]

Organizational structure[]

The department is administratively divided into three regions, Northern, Central, and Southcoast.

The Northern Region, headquartered in Fairbanks, is the largest, most geographically diverse, and maintains more centerline miles of highway, including the Alaska Highway, Richardson Highway, Taylor Highway, Denali Highway, and Dalton Highway and portions of the Parks Highway and the Glenn Highway.

The Central Region, headquartered in Anchorage, includes the state’s most urban areas, as well as some of the most remote villages on the Kuskokwim Delta, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutian Chain. Central Region maintains the Seward Highway and the Sterling Highway, as well as parts of the Parks Highway and Glenn Highway.

The Southcoast Region, headquartered in Juneau, serves the coastal communities of Alaska encompassing a population of 98,000. Currently, only four Southcoast communities are connected to the continental highway system – Skagway, Haines, Hyder, and Valdez.

The Alaska Marine Highway System is headquartered in Ketchikan, Alaska.^[4] From there, AMHS management directs the operation and maintenance of our fleet of ten vessels, ranging in size from the 181 ft. MV Lituya to the 418 ft. MV Columbia.

References[]

External links[]

• Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities