Road crews in Alaska have totally repaired a road that was severely damaged by last week’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake near Anchorage.
An off-ramp that connects International Airport Road and Minnesota Drive in Anchorage was torn apart in the quake, creating a large hole.
The post went viral around the United States, and many people marveled at the Alaskan road crews and lamented local road crews taking weeks—or sometimes months or even years—to fill potholes in their area. “It would take California years to get this done,” wrote one person, which drew many “like” and “love” reactions on Facebook. “Wow! It takes 6 months to fill a pot hole in TX,” said another.
Meanwhile, the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) noted that it’s harder to do road work during this time of the year due to the cold temperatures. But they managed to fix the road.
“Two main factors affect asphalt compaction: temperature and time. Crews will take extra steps to accommodate for these factors. Alaska’s contractors are experienced and they are dedicated to repairing the asphalt surfaces damaged by the earthquake,” said the DOT on Dec. 3.
“You can expect earthquakes in magnitude 5 or 4 to continue for the next couple of weeks, and as time goes on it tapers off,” Rafael Abreu, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Science Center, said in the report.
Since the quake, people nervous about aftershocks were still grappling with the damage that closed public buildings and schools, clogged roads, and knocked homes off foundations.
“We don’t want the commute to be frustrating because people will experience delays,” she said.