A remote Alaska town that’s home to 265 residents is so isolated that locals must return home before midnight to avoid being shut out.
One of the only ways to reach the sleepy town of Whittier, Alaska, tucked away on the west side of the Prince William Sound, is by driving through a one-way tunnel running directly beneath a glacier.
But the last time drivers can enter the tunnel before it closes are 11pm in the summer and 10:30pm in the winter.
Anyone looking to get to the tiny town after hours will have to wait till morning.
Whittier enforces a strict curfew and closes the tunnel every night using a timekeeping system.
The span is the longest combined vehicle-railroad tunnel in North America and runs for 2.5 miles, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
It takes approximately 6 minutes to travel through the tunnel if a driver is traveling 25 miles per hour.
Since the tunnel is a one-way road, each time slot is scheduled for 15 minutes – starting at 5.30am in the summer and 7am in the winter.
Oversize vehicles are even more limited and are only allowed from Monday to Thursday.
Another limitation is that cars and the Alaska Railroad Corporation have to take turns. Train track switches are used to direct trains away from the tunnel before it can open for highway traffic.
This means if a train is delayed the cars also have to wait.
The ADTPF wrote that only 20% of time slots are actually used by the railroad. When they’re not used, tunnel operators can use the additional time slots to let cars through during peak traffic.
The process to get through the tunnel is intricately planned. Once a car pays the $13 toll, vehicles are lined up in a precise order: busses, trucks, cars and then vehicles towing trailers.
The Alaska Railroad can also be a peculiar ride, as there are no railroad facilities in Whittier.
The Glacier Discovery Train, which originates in Anchorage, ‘loads and off-loads passengers in a white tented area across from the cruise ship terminal and marina.’
Whittier is Alaska Railroad’s only viable freight interchange point for barge service that connects Alaska to other parts of the United States and Canada. It’s vitally important to the state due to it’s deep-water port staying ice-free year-round.
The town is 50 miles from the state capital, Anchorage, which is short by Alaskan standards.
Whittier’s small population means that the majority of resident live in a single complex, which was originally built as army barracks that served as a ‘secret’ military facility for the U.S. Army during WWII before being converted into a residential space in 1974.
The building houses a post office and a grocery store, as well as tunnels leading out to schools, laundry and housing.
Visitors can only gain access to the ground level of the 14-story complex, while the remaining floors are only accessible to residents.