After environmentalists convinced U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason to vacate the land exchange facilitating the construction of the King Cove road through the Izembek Wilderness, environmentalists then tried to block the construction of the first 2.8 miles of road that does not go through Izembek. The first 2.8 miles is being built on private land owned by the King Cove Corporation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the motion to halt the work. Alaska DOT&PF announced today, September 18, 2026, that construction on the first 2.8 miles of the King Cove road to Cold Bay is underway.
“Our local airport is inaccessible due to weather conditions for roughly 120 days each year, making dependable travel for emergencies, medical care, and other essential needs difficult or impossible,” said King Cove Mayor, Warren Wilson. “The King Cove to Cold Bay Road will provide King Cove residents with a connection to the all-weather airport at Cold Bay and the reliable air service that comes with it. Seeing work begin on this road is an important milestone for the people who call King Cove home.”
King Cove and Cold Bay sit about 18 miles apart near the western end of the Alaska Peninsula, separated by the narrow Izembek Isthmus. Both communities are reachable only by sea or air. Cold Bay has a major all-weather airport capable of handling medical evacuations year-round; King Cove does not. Residents and local leaders, including the King Cove Corporation (KCC), an Alaska Native Village Corporation, have long argued that the lack of a road has cost lives and endangered families during medical emergencies.
U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan decried Judge Gleason’s decision as a “shameful betrayal” that “prioritize the interests of birds over the well-being of Alaska Natives.” Although the stretch of land through Izembek needed to complete the road is still blocked, the State of Alaska intends to fight for King Cove residents’ access to emergency medical care.
Governor Dunleavy commented on the construction of the first 2.8 miles of the road: “For more than thirty years the people of King Cove have asked for a safe way to reach the all-weather airport at Cold Bay. Alaskans living in remote communities deserve the same access to emergency care as anyone else in this country.”
According to DOT&PF, local hiring was a priority to complete the first 2.8 miles of road. More than 20 King Cove residents have completed safety training and earned DOT&PF certificates, and five community members earned their commercial driver’s licenses.
“Our job is to turn this shared commitment into progress on the ground,” said Alaska DOT&PF Commissioner Ryan Anderson. “We’re working as one team with our community, Alaska Native corporation and federal partners to build this road safely and put local residents to work. Seeing King Cove residents gain new skills and help build their own community’s connection is an important part of that progress.”
Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration recently approved an amendment to Alaska’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program that includes funding for the King Cove to Cold Bay Road.
The project is being delivered in partnership with King Cove Corporation and The Aleut Corporation, both landowners in the corridor, and with the support of the King Cove Tribe, the City of King Cove and the Aleutians East Borough, which have advocated for this connection for decades.
Project information, history, documents and updates are available at dot.alaska.gov/sereg/projects/king-cove-cold-bay.
