State marks completion of Alaska Railroad's Tanana River Bridge

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell on Tuesday attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Tanana River Bridge, which recently was completed on time and on budget by the Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC).

More than three-fifths of a mile long, the structure now is the state's longest bridge and can accommodate both trains and motor vehicles. The bridge provides year-round access to the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, which is the largest U.S. military training area, Parnell said in a press release.
 
"Beyond benefits to the military and our economy, this bridge will be a major benefit to the community of Salcha by stopping ice-jam flooding from destroying homes," he said.

The bridge was built in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, which provided $104.2 million for the project. The state covered $84 million of the bridge's cost, which was budgeted at $188.2 million.

The Tanana River Bridge was the first phase of ARRC's Northern Rail Extension, a four-phased project aimed at extending a rail line 80 miles from Eielson Air Force Base near North Pole to Delta Junction, Alaska.