$28 million for one bridge

The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $28.8 million to the Alaska Railroad to repair the Hurricane Gulch Bridge, a 105 year old steel arch that carries the railroad's main line across a canyon north of Talkeetna in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, on the route between Anchorage and Denali.

The bridge carries every train running on that stretch, including the trains that serve riders boarding in Anchorage and Wasilla and the summer trains that run north through the Valley to Denali. The full repair project is budgeted at $36 million, with the Alaska Railroad covering the remaining $7.2 million itself.

The federal money comes from a $5.3 billion national passenger rail program.

The grant was presented at the Alaska Railroad depot in Anchorage on August 19. Alaska Railroad CEO Bill O'Leary said the depot has hosted plenty of events over the years but never a check of that size. Federal Railroad Administrator David Fink, who flew up for the presentation, said the bridge is 100 years old and needs some tender loving care. Fink noted the railroad deals with avalanches, floods, glaciers and ice, conditions most railroads never face. He was scheduled to visit the bridge in person the following day.