Drilling Rig Breaks Down, Blocks Road While in Transit

A giant drilling rig is completely blocking one of the main roads near Prudhoe Bay. BP was moving the rig, called Doyon 16, slowly between the Milne Point Field and Prudhoe Bay on Sept. 20 when one of its enormous wheels broke through the road surface. Crews have been working to free the rig. But in the meantime, the normal flow of traffic on the road has come to a halt.  BP spokesman Steve Reinhart says this is not a common occurrence:

Getting the rig unstuck also happens very slowly. Reinhart says crews will probably have it moving again by the end of the week.

Listen to the full story

Download Audio (MP3)

Annie Feidt is the broadcast managing editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at afeidt@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annie here

Previous articleNational Indian Health Board Convention Underway
Next articleVoters Electing Nearly Entire Bethel City Council