The Dalton Highway is open year-round, roughly 3,700 large trucks travel the road each month, even during the arctic winter. There are 40 to 50 avalanche paths along Atigun Pass and a massive avalanche could close the pass during winter months and shut down the transportation of supplies to Prudhoe Bay. The department of transportation uses 11-foot-long avalanche guns to shoot down potential slides, keeping the road clear and the truck drivers safe. This is the most expensive and probably most important maintenance job on the Dalton Highway.
