Kinross Gold officials are proposing to divert trucks hauling ore from a mine near Tok away from the Steese Expressway once they begin hauling ore from the mine two years from now.
Kinross Fort Knox General Manager Jeremy Brans talked about the company’s trucking plans Tuesday during a meeting at the Pioneer Park Centennial Civic Center in Fairbanks. Kinross plans to run up to 192 trucks daily from its Manh Choh mine in Tetlin to its Fort Knox mill near Fox.
Each of the double-dumper trucks will be up to 120 feet long and weigh up to 80 tons.
Brans told about 80 people at the Civic Center that the trucks will exit the Richardson Highway and take the Mitchell Expressway to Peger Road, then take Peger to the Johansen Expressway to get back to the Steese and onto the mill. He says that route will take the trucks away from a congested stretch of the Steese Expressway.
But Brans said Kinross officials haven’t yet worked out other details of the trucking plan, including whether the company should decouple the double trailers in Fairbanks and haul one trailer at a time over the last segment of the trip to Fort Knox. He said the company "strongly prefers" to use the double trailers over the entire 240-mile route.
Many people who live along that route say Kinross’s plan will put too many heavy trucks on the Alaska, Richardson and Steese highways, and will create hazards for both residents and motorists. Several of those who attended the meeting raised those concerns.
A Kinross spokesperson estimated a total of 400 people attended Tuesday’s meeting in-person or online.
The company held a second meeting on the mine and trucking plan Wednesday in Tok.
