Alaska DOT&PF’s History

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is headquartered in the capital city of Juneau. The mission of Alaska DOT&PF is to "Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure."

The Alaska Road Commission, was created in 1905 as a board of the U.S. War Department. It was responsible for the construction and improvement of many important Alaska highways, such as the Richardson, Alaska, Steese, Elliot and Edgerton Highways, among others.

The commission was transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1932, and was absorbed by the Bureau of Public Roads, a division of the Commerce Department in 1956. DOT&PF was established on July 1, 1977, merging the former departments of Highways and Public Works. Today, responsibility for road development and maintenance in Alaska lies with our department.

DOT&PF designs, constructs, operates and maintains the state’s transportation infrastructure systems, buildings, and other facilities used by Alaskans and visitors. These include more than 5,600 miles of paved and gravel highways; 237 airports; 839 bridges; over 800 public facilities; 16 harbors; and a ferry system covering 3,500 nautical miles serving 33 coastal communities.

The department is administratively divided into three regions:

• The Northern Region, headquartered in Fairbanks, is the largest, most geographically diverse, and maintains more centerline miles of highway, including all of the Alaska, Richardson, Taylor, Denali, and Dalton Highways and portions of the Parks and Glenn Highways.
• The Central Region, headquartered in Anchorage, includes the state’s most urban areas, as well as some of the most remote villages on the Kuskokwim delta, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutian Chain. Central Region maintains the Seward and Sterling Highways, as well as parts of the Parks and Glenn Highways.
• The Southcoast Region, headquartered in Juneau, serves the coastal communities of Alaska encompassing a population of 98,000. Currently, only four Southcoast communities are connected to the continental highway system – Skagway, Haines, Hyder, and Valdez.

The Alaska Marine Highway System is headquartered in Ketchikan. From there, AMHS management directs the operation and maintenance of our fleet of nine vessels, ranging in size from the 181 ft. M/V Lituya to the 418 ft. M/V Columbia.

Alaska DOT&PF’s Purpose

Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure.

Impact

• DOT&PF serves every Alaskan, every day
• DOT&PF provides a safe and efficient transportation system for Alaska to thrive
• DOT&PF provides Alaskans with access to goods, services, economic opportunities, each other and the world

Core Values

• Integrity: Doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Doing what you say you are going to do
• Excellence: Commitment to continually improve
• Respect: Positive regard for customers, stakeholders, investors and colleagues
• Safety: Commitment to safeguarding transportation systems and users while promoting a safety culture in the workplace

DOT&PF Vision

Moving beyond Alaska’s challenges while meeting Alaskans’ distinct transportation needs through trust, teamwork, and results