Whilst visiting my son in Wasilla, Alaska, we did a 271km overnight trip to Seward on Resurrection Bay. Highlights included the Resurrect Art Coffee House and investigating the Lowell Creek diversion tunnel. Apparently way back and before 1927 Seward authorities allowed premises to be built at the head of Lowell Canyon which is noted for flooding when snow thaws on the mountains either side. To mitigate the risk of flooding the Lowell Creek Diversion Tunnel was completed in 1940, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reroute floodwaters into Resurrection Bay outside the city limits. The tunnel is concrete lined 10ft in diameter and 2,070ft in length and replaced an earlier, failing timber flume built in 1927. Apparently the present diversion is only just good enough - recently the water level has reached within inches of the top of the dam, so plans are afoot to bore a second tunnel.
 |
| The course of the tunnel is evident! |
 |
| The tunnel starts here |
 |
| A dam encourages the flow to enter |
The tunnel ends here
Travelling a little further south we came to Lowell Point which is just about as far as you can get by car, but is the Caines trailhead which would take you to the ruins of WWII Fort McGilvary at 7.4 miles - that's if you have timed the tides right, because part of the trail is below high water. Needless to say we did not venture there!
