Council eyes dyke repair, RailRoad embankment as areas for flood mitigation

The Talkeetna Community Council has identified a number of measures they would like the Borough and State to address to diminish the impact of future high water flood events.

Council Member Robert Gerlach is asking the Mat Su Department of Public Works to look in to the conditions that contributed to higher-than normal flood waters during September’s flood event.
The council will ask the state to address the Alaska Rail Road’s Bridge embankment, which extends in to the Talkeetna River, and cuts off the river’s outlet in to the Susitna River.

Also to be addressed is an old culvert under the Rail Road Embankment behind Talkeetna Gifts and Collectibles, which had previously been covered up with gravel fill, but which opened during the flood, unleashing substantial amounts of water in to Downtown Talkeetna.

The dyke that shields downtown Talkeetna from flood waters was also eroded during the flood, though water will need to go down even further before the extent o the damages are known. The dyke will likely need additional re-enforcement with rip-rap to continue to withstand high water events.

Another area the Council will ask the State to address is a raised flood-plain in East Talkeetna due to the Airport Runway expansion carried out a decade ago. The runway extension raised the flood-plain by roughly three feet, and reduced flood water’s ability to drain in to Twister Creek to the south.

Finally, the repairs to the Montana Creek dyke at Yoder Road will need heavier armoring with large rocks to prevent erosion and failure of the dyke, as happened during the recent flood.