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For those interested in the Whittier Rockslide

xene97

By xene97,
in Alaska

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englishbird

englishbird

Posted
Posted
For the past 2 days the city of Whittier has been posting updates on their website. You can view them at http://www.whittieralaska.gov/update.html

 

Sounds like they should have things clear before our 5/25 cruise!

 

 

Thanks for that info. Im hoping it will be clear so I can get to the Diamond Princess on 16th May.

 

Englishbird:)

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Chenega

Chenega

Posted
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My wife is working for one of the day cruises in Whittier right now and it's an inconvenience to get to Whittier. You have to take a bus from the Alaska Railroad depot and transfer to train at Portage. The schedule is limited to two trips a day; there's a midday train trip from Portage to Whittier but no service from Anchorage so you have to drive your own car. On the bright side, there's no charge but you do need a reservation.

 

Opinions are varied on the pace of the project and many residents are quite frustrated by the slowness of the project. With cruise ships appearing in about 2 weeks, they have to get something done. Talk is they've given priority to providing limited road access between 5-7am and 7-9pm. If and when that occurs, there will be tolls collected to access the tunnel. Hopefully, things will be cleared by the first ship.

 

The biggest problem for the cruise lines is that some passengers transfer out of Whittier by train while others go by bus. If the road remained closed and/or limited, don't know what they'd do and, as of today, answers aren't there yet.

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xene97

xene97

Posted
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The State setup this site. On the news, they have been showing an upset Whittier council member. Hopefully DOT will get into gear on this mess.

 

DOT&PF Launches Whittier Access Incident Command Website

 

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/comm/pressbox/arch_2009/PR09-2580.shtml

 

I've been watching this site for the past couple of days but they still haven't posted anything.

 

According to the Whittier update site they've been drilling holes to plant the explosive and they plan on blasting on Tuesday. But they also mentioned that "During the drilling, many cracks were encountered and the drillers are worried that some explosive might migrate into those cracks." Hopefully they know exactly what they're doing - I'd hate for the blasting to cause even further damage.

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BRDbabies

BRDbabies

Posted
Posted

So, just wondering if we have our Anchorage to Whittier tansfers booked with Magic Bus, does anyone know what happens there? Should we be looking at our own arrangements or will they look after things for us?

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ARRTrain

ARRTrain

Posted
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It is just a wait a see what happens game. DOT knows on the 16th a ship will be in and everyone needs a regular schedule.

 

Right now they are proposing a 5am-7am opening and a 7pm-9pm opening, when the blasting is done. They say they need 12 hours a day of clear roads to remove rock when the blasting is done.

 

I think they should remove the rock at night and have it open during the day for everyone else.

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Chenega

Chenega

Posted
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It is just a wait a see what happens game. DOT knows on the 16th a ship will be in and everyone needs a regular schedule.

 

Right now they are proposing a 5am-7am opening and a 7pm-9pm opening, when the blasting is done. They say they need 12 hours a day of clear roads to remove rock when the blasting is done.

 

I think they should remove the rock at night and have it open during the day for everyone else.

 

I know the people my wife works with in Whittier agree with your suggestion about working at night. Her company is presently running day cruises for school kids that leave at 10am and return at 4:00pm. The proposed opening hours just don't work for elementary and middle school kids who would have to leave Anchorage by 5am and not get home until 9pm or later. Someone needs to rethink this.

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themerle

themerle

Posted
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For the past 2 days the city of Whittier has been posting updates on their website. You can view them at http://www.whittieralaska.gov/update.html

 

Sounds like they should have things clear before our 5/25 cruise!

 

Thanks for posting this. I'm really interested in this rock slide as we will be cruising out of Whittier on May 25. I'll be checking Tuesday evening after they start blasting. I sure hope they don't cause more problems. We're taking the train from Anchorage on the 25th so I hope the train is able to run. I haven't looked at alternative transportation yet.

 

I sure hate that this has happened, especially for the residents in the area. I'm hoping that it's cleared up soon and things get back to normal for all of you.

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Italy52

Italy52

Posted
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With all that is going on I know it's not easy to predict but I will ask my question anyway.

 

We have a tour with Major Marine on 5/25; we will be taking a car through the Whittier Tunnel. Do you think we should cancel or will we be OK? Would prefer to go by car as we can do sightseeing on the way and coming back.

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The Mentalist

The Mentalist

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I know everyone hopes the road will be open by the 16th. I agree, that's best case scenario.

 

For those of you from Anchorage that know this area well, what are the most likely alternatives in the event the road is not accessible for the first few ships that arrive in Whittier? Besides transporting passengers to and from Whittier to Anchorage, will supplies be available for the ship? How about trash removal? Have merchants (and Princess) had access to set-up for the season?

 

Thank you. Any information you can provide is helpful.

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themerle

themerle

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Right now the train is the only way to go. The tunnel is fine and trains continue to go through - it's the road to the tunnel that is blocked.

 

Oh, I'm glad the trains can may it through the tunnel. I guess I'm set!

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bellebaby

bellebaby

Posted
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Right now the train is the only way to go. The tunnel is fine and trains continue to go through - it's the road to the tunnel that is blocked.

 

Is the train now operational from Anchorage to Whittier? Or does it still require taking a bus to Portage and transferring to the train?

 

Thanks.

 

B

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