Location and Vicinity Map
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To promote more active exploration and development of the oil and gas resources in the Foothills Area west of the Dalton Highway, the State of Alaska, through the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF), proposes to construct an all-season gravel road from the Dalton Highway to Umiat, Alaska. The corridor would optimize and expand oil and gas exploration and development of known hydrocarbon resources in the Foothills Area, as well as facilitate a more economically feasible development of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The project is considered an important investment by the State of Alaska to further oil and gas resource development opportunities to benefit Alaska’s economy.

Proposed Action and Foothills Study Area
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The proposed Foothills Area is within the North Slope Borough. The area is south of the Umiat baseline, west of the Dalton Highway, north of the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, and east of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (Map 1). This area approximately 650 square miles. The area mostly state lands, but also includes Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), and private lands. The area is primarily within the foothills of the Brooks Range, which becomes less mountainous toward the north end of the study area. Within the Foothills Area, the State of Alaska is targeting oil and gas lease areas, known oil and gas accumulations, and prospective Foothills structural trends between the Dalton Highway and Umiat. The road would be designed to safely accommodate industrial traffic in arctic conditions.

Resource Areas Map
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Construction components of this corridor would include an all-season gravel road, associated bridges, pull-outs, maintenance facilities, temporary construction camps, and material sites. While the road may be closed to the public during periods of exploration and development activities, the road would eventually be open to the public.

The road would cross up to six major rivers, depending upon the final route alignment. These are the Toolik, Kuparuk, Itkillik, Anaktuvuk, Chandler, and Colville rivers. Bridges across the rivers would be designed to accommodate industrial activities and weight loads associated with oil and gas pipelines. While subsequent efforts by industry to develop infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines and their associated components are reasonably foreseeable, these elements are not proposed by this action.