Emergency services

Slippery roads cause three truck wrecks along Richardson Highway

KUAC | By Tim Ellis

Published January 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM AKST

An 11th Airborne Division soldier awaits a wrecker to help right a trailer that overturned early Thursday morning when a 12-vehicle Army convoy was on its way to a training exercise near Fort Greely. A heavy tanker was pulling the trailer, which was loaded with a tank rack module, a system used to refuel battle tanks. — An 11th Airborne Division soldier awaits a wrecker to help right a trailer that overturned early Thursday morning when a 12-vehicle Army convoy was on its way to a training exercise near Fort Greely. A heavy tanker was pulling the trailer, which was loaded with a system used to refuel battle tanks.

One injured Wednesday when fuel tanker collides with pickup; Army trailer overturns Thursday, spills fuel

Alaska State Troopers reported three wrecks involving big trucks over the past couple of days along the Richardson Highway between Fairbanks and Delta Junction.

A heavy wrecker pulls the Army trailer back upright early Thursday morning. The Richardson Highway was closed around milepost 300 during the wreck and recovery operation. — A heavy wrecker pulls the Army trailer back upright. The Richardson Highway was closed around milepost 300 during the wreck and recovery operation.

One person was injured Wednesday when a semi pulling two fuel-tank trailers struck a pickup that was turning into a driveway just north of Delta. A Trooper report says the pickup driver was transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment.

The tanker driver wasn’t injured, and the Crowley Fuels truck he was driving only had minor damage. The report says a vehicle that was passing by when the wreck occurred was hit with a piece of debris torn loose by the collision.

No injuries were reported in another wreck involving an Army vehicle that occurred early Thursday morning about five miles south of Birch Lake. An 11^th Airborne Division news release says the vehicle was among 11 others traveling south along the Richardson headed to a military training exercise near Fort Greely.

The news release says a fueling trailer being pulled by the Army truck flopped over on its side near milepost 300 when the driver lost control in icy conditions. Troopers spokesperson John Dougherty said they got a report about the incident at around 3 a.m. Thursday.

A Salcha resident snapped this photo of a box truck that collided with the Salcha River bridge guardrail Thursday afternoon.

Dougherty said traffic was backed up for about a mile in both directions until the trailer was righted and removed and the roadway cleared at around 10:30 a.m.

Army spokesperson John Pennell said some of the fuel in trailer spilled, but he did not yet have an estimate on how much. He said personnel on-scene took measures to mitigate the spill and that Fort Wainwright dispatched an environmental team to recover fuel and begin investigating the incident.

The third wreck occurred around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, when a box truck collided with a guardrail on the Salcha River bridge at Richardson Highway milepost 323. No injuries were reported, and traffic was delayed on one lane while the truck was removed and debris was cleared.