The Dalton Highway, which is state Route 11, runs more than miles from Fairbanks in central Alaska to the Prudhoe Bay, which toes the Arctic Ocean and contains a large oil field. It was along this route, just south of the oil field, that Joy Wiebe perished in a rollover crash when her foot tanker slipped down an embankment. She was 50 years old and had driven a truck for 13 years. RELATED: Pioneering tanker driver's passing mourned by Alaska trucking community In the wake of her passing, a group of truckers familiar with the route is planning to host a conference call to discuss road conditions and safety improvements.
Randi Matheson, a pilot truck driver who knew Wiebe through work, said state department of transportation representatives will be invited to join the call.
Pilot drivers act as escorts for trucks hauling large loads to ensure they reach their destinations safely.
Matheson identified real-time information on road closures and more delineators reflective strips on the side of the road as improvements that would benefit drivers on Dalton Highway.
The route sometimes is obscured by thick fog, and reports indicate that visibility was poor on the night Wiebe died. She said the department also is working on a multiyear project to pave the 52 miles of highway leading to the oil field. Dalton Highway.
