Tongass National Forest

Wood in Transportation

Issue

Transportation legislation before Congress and a State administration with a commitment to transportation development create the potential for future new investments in transportation infrastructure in Alaska. Some of the transporttation structures, including road and trail bridges, marine facilities, etc., could be built from Alaska wood species. This creates a potential in-state market for value-added Alaska wood products. An interagency Wood in Transportation (WIT) working group is evaluating this economic development opportunity.

Background

A bill before Congress entitled the Denali Transportation System Act (S.295) would establish an access program within the Denali Commission. This bill contains a section that gives “preference to Alaska materials and products.” The U.S. Senate has passed its version of the multi-year transportation reauthorization bill, S. 1072. The U.S. House of Representatives is still working on their version, HR 3550. The Alaska governor has made access (transportation) a centerpiece of his administration. The small forest products industry remnants in the state do not currently manufacture treated wood products, and they manufacture very little from naturally decay resistant species that could be used in transportation structures throughout the state.

Some of the structures required for this infrastructure could be made of either treated Alaska wood (western hemlock, Sitka spruce, white spruce) or untreated Alaska yellow cedar. However, Alaska doesn’t yet have good information on the strength and other engineering characteristics of all Alaska wood species; the size of the potential market for wood structures; the acceptance of preservative treatment systems by regulatory authorities; or the performance of bridges built with Alaska species, etc. There is no state manual for treated wood products in aquatic environments, and no state DOT standard designs for wood bridges.

Current Situation

An interagency working group from the Forest Service (National Forest System, Research, and State & Private Forestry), University of Alaska, and State of Alaska formed to address research needs and opportunities and challenges associated with the support of a potential wood in transportation industry in Alaska. The goal of the working group is to document the opportunity to use Alaska wood in transportation industry, and provide the forest products industry the confidence to make investment decisions regarding their involvement in production of wood in transportation structures.

Work products under development by sub groups include a literature review; a database of WIT structures in Alaska; obtaining EPA labels for needed pesticide chemicals to use as wood preservatives; bridge monitoring protocols to assess bridge performance; in-grade testing of Alaska species to establish new design strength values; and standard designs for bridges using new design values for Alaska species.

The Ketchikan Wood Technology Center is making great progress in their testing programs. Alaska yellow cedar has been accepted as a unique species for grading purposes by the American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC), with new design values that reflect the high strength of Alaska-grown yellow cedar. New design values for Alaska hemlock are pending approval by the committee, and testing is being completed on Alaska Sitka spruce and Alaska white spruce, for submittal to ALSC in fall 2004. The center is currently starting a testing program to develop new glued-laminated timber beam designs utilizing Alaskan species.

More Information

Paul McIntosh, Program Manager, Denali Commission, (907) 271-1640.

Current as of March 2004

USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest Accessibility Statement
Last Modified: November 25, 2007