A Better Alaska
Alaska has changed since 2018. Not every headline mentions it. Here's the record.A Better Alaska
Alaska has changed since 2018. Not every headline mentions it. Here's the record.Transportation
Airports, ferries, roads, and how the state responds when the weather wins.
Aviation
Air cargo
#1in the United States
Anchorage is the busiest cargo airport in the United States and third busiest in the world.
The airport handled 3,854,614 metric tons of cargo in 2025, up from #2 in North America and #4 worldwide in 2023.
Alaska International Airport System — ACI 2025 traffic rankings|FAA CY2025 preliminary all-cargo rankings
Passengers
6.56Mpassengers in FY2025
Passenger traffic through Alaska’s international airports grew by more than a million a year since 2020.
Total passengers rose from 5,312,951 in FY2020 to 6,564,209 in FY2025 — 35,016,325 cumulative across the period.
Alaska International Airport System — AIAS Annual Activity Summary Report
Air freight
1.71Mmetric tons in FY2025
Cargo tonnage through the state airport system rose 32 percent in five years.
Up from 1,294,612 metric tons in FY2020, with 9,409,716 metric tons moved cumulatively from FY2020 through FY2025.
Alaska International Airport System — AIAS Annual Activity Summary Report
New service
43rdstate served
Southwest Airlines came to Alaska for the first time.
Announced October 2, 2025 and launched May 15, 2026 with once-daily seasonal nonstop service to Denver and Las Vegas. Alaska became the 43rd state Southwest serves.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — DOT&PF Press Release 25-0037
The Alaska Marine Highway
Fleet reliability
98.55%uptime in 2025
The ferry fleet ran at better than 98 percent uptime in 2025, with five months at a full 100 percent.
34,733 operating hours against 504 hours out of service, up slightly from 98.51 percent in 2024.
Alaska Marine Highway System — AMHS presentation to Southeast Conference
New vessel
2023M/V Hubbard in service
The M/V Hubbard entered revenue service after sitting idle since delivery.
Delivered in 2019 but never placed in service, the vessel began serving Juneau, Haines, and Skagway on May 23, 2023 after a $15 million project added crew quarters.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — DOT&PF Press Release 23-0019
Tustumena replacement
$350Mlow bid identified
A replacement for the 1964 M/V Tustumena finally has a builder in view.
Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors was identified as apparent low bidder on June 30, 2026 at $349,996,251. A formal Intention to Award is pending documentation review.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — DOT&PF Press Release 26-0018
Federal ferry funding
$177.4Min federal grants
Alaska secured $177.4 million in federal rural ferry grants against a deferred maintenance backlog.
Announced September 16, 2024: $106.4 million toward the Tustumena replacement, $66 million for operational improvements, and $5 million for onboard Wi-Fi.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — DOT&PF Press Release 24-0023|FTA FY2024 Ferry Grant selected projects
Roads and Bridges
Juneau Creek Bridge
285feet high
Alaska is building its highest bridge, and its longest single span since 1982.
The Juneau Creek Bridge on the Sterling Highway between mileposts 45 and 60 stands about 285 feet high with an overall length near 950 feet.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — Sterling Highway MP 45-60 project
Frontier corridors
7.29miles opened
Roads long discussed and never built are now open to the public.
Shelter Cove Road opened in October 2025 with 7.29 miles of new gravel road connecting to the Forest Service trail system. Katlian Bay Road is under construction at about 9 miles, and the Nenana-Totchaket extension was completed in fall 2023 with bridges added in summer 2024.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — DOT&PF Press Release 25-0038
Emergency Response
Typhoon Halong
8Mpounds delivered
After Typhoon Halong struck in October 2025, the state moved 8 million pounds of material to affected communities.
More than 3,628,739 kilograms delivered by February 17, 2026, supported by more than 300 drone missions and over $63 million expended.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — Typhoon Halong briefing to Senate Transportation|FEMA major disaster declaration (FEMA-4893-DR)
Drones and imagery
98,324images collected
A state drone program replaced mailing hard drives out of rural Alaska.
The ARROW program has been operational since May 1, 2023, originally across 11 rural communities. During the Typhoon Halong response it flew more than 300 missions and collected 98,324 images and 540 videos.
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities — Typhoon Halong briefing to Senate Transportation|USDOT SMART Grants implementation reports
Infrastructure
Broadband, rail, and the power grid.
Rail freight
3.9million tons
The Alaska Railroad is hauling more freight than it did in 2018 — and it still takes no state subsidy.
Freight rose from about 3.5 million tons in 2018 to nearly 3.9 million tons in 2025. The state-owned railroad reinvests its net income in operations and infrastructure.
Alaska Railroad Corporation — Quick Facts|Freight Services fact sheet
Grid storage
173megawatt-hours
Alaska's main power grid has enough battery storage to steady the system when a generator drops offline.
At least 173 megawatt-hours of utility-scale battery storage is online across the Railbelt as of late 2024, including Homer Electric Association's 93 MWh Soldotna system and the 80 MWh Anchorage system serving Chugach and Matanuska Electric members.
Homer Electric — Battery Energy Storage System|Matanuska Electric — new battery storage system|Alaska Energy Authority — Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program
Grid resilience
$17.7million
Federal money is going toward hardening Alaska's grid against wildfire, thawing permafrost, and storms.
Awarded to Alaska on April 13, 2026 under the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant Program.
Alaska Energy Authority — Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program|U.S. Department of Energy — program|awards
