Alaska Railroad Corp. nearly matched its all-time gravel-hauling record this year, moving 3.6 million tons from rock pits in Palmer to Anchorage.
Patrick Flynn, Alaska Railroad's public affairs officer, said gravel-hauling in 2002 was just 8,000 tons short of 1999's record-breaking haul of more than 36,000 100-ton hopper cars.
The amount of gravel hauled is a good barometer of the state's economy, Flynn said.
"Any project in Southcentral Alaska is probably going to need gravel, whether it's for roads, buildings or to some degree, fill to create parks," Flynn said.
Major road and construction projects in and around Anchorage this year had the railroad running as many as six, 80-car gravel trains daily from Palmer at rock pits owned by Central Paving Products, Anchorage Sand & Gravel, and Quality Asphalt and Paving.
"Let's just say it was an above-average year and the outlook remains strong," said Jim Winchester, sales manager for Central Paving Products.
The company has been mining rock in Palmer since 1979. The company runs two, 80-car trains a day hauling rock which ranges from 12 inches in diameter to sand.
"Almost everything that is built in Anchorage uses Palmer gravel," Winchester said.
Gravel shipments are strongest in the spring and fall; no gravel is shipped in winter months.
Hopper cars are moved over the line between Palmer and Anchorage in the spring to replenish winter stockpiles. The peak of the gravel hauling season is usually from August to mid-October.
Winchester said Southcentral's unseasonally warm weather through the first week of November kept workers at his quarry busier than usual.
Gravel trains ceased at the end of October, so much of the rock had to be stockpiled in Palmer, Winchester said.
"We've just about run out of space," Winchester said.
"We'll hit the ground running next spring," said Winchester, adding he and others are concerned major maintenance on the railroad between Palmer and Anchorage could hinder shipments next year.
Flynn said the railroad will do what's necessary to keep the line open.
Gravel is an important source of freight revenue for the railroad, second only to petroleum hauled from Williams Alaska Petroleum Inc.'s North Pole refinery.
The railroad hauled some 3.54 million tons of gravel last year. In 2000, a slowed economy cut gravel shipments 40 percent below the benchmark 1999 level, according to the railroad.
Gravel revenues last year were $7 million and should increase slightly in 2002, Flynn said.
The railroad is forecasting freight revenues to be $80 million for 2002, up from $74.9 million this year. Freight revenues, thanks in part to robust gravel shipments, have more than quadrupled in the last five years.
Gravel trains are heavy, causing vibrations along the line, a sensation likened to a mini-earthquake. More trains mean more blasts from train whistles at at-grade crossings, something railroads are required to do by law.
Flynn said the railroad has spent millions of dollars in recent years to quiet train noise, including adding more foliage along the line and adding longer track to that creates a steady, less annoying sound.
Those measures have quelled most gripes from folks who live near the tracks, Flynn said.
Trains keep big gravel trucks off the Glenn Highway, reducing traffic and causing less wear and tear on the state's roads, where much of the gravel ultimately ends up in asphalt, Flynn said.
