Once again, I find myself on the wrong side of the Anchor River. This is not unusual in my life, on many occasions I have found myself on one side of the river and all of the fishing action was taking place on the other side. However, this situation is more serious. We found ourselves in this predicament one year ago when they closed the Anchor River bridge for repairs. I have always wanted to live at the end of the road, my wish has been answered. I am now the last house on the Old Sterling Highway. Although, I only live one mile from my favorite place to join the "coffee table", I will now have to drive 18.3 miles to get there. We do enjoy less expensive home insurance because we live within a mile of the Anchor Point Fire Department, but the present time our emergency calls will be answered by the Homer Fire Department, which is 17.2 miles away. I have to wonder if my insurance rates will be adjusted for this one week period. But, when all is said and done, it is nice to see that they are doing the required work on our "old bridge". We keep putting down those who want to replace the bridge with one of those new modern, non-descript bridges. Our "bridge" is special and the last of it's kind on the Sterling Highway network. It is the oldest and the only remaining original bridge that was constructed between Anchorage and Homer when the Sterling Highway was punched through the wilderness to Homer. It was constructed in 1950 and has withstood all the floods through time. During the great floods of 2002, it was the only remaining bridge between Kasilof and Homer. The "old bridge" has character, so many memories. If you were so inclined to do so and climbed the girders supporting the bridge, you would find the names of various people printed on the top of the bridge. Some of these names date back to some of those that are now elders in the community. During one campaign to get funding to replace the bridge, someone in the community that has a knowledge of the past, spread the rumor that this old bridge was actually a "liberated" bridge. Reportedly, several hundred of this style of bridge was "liberated" from Germany following World War II and transported to the U.S. for construction of the Alcan Highway. The bridges not used in this construction project were then given to the Territory of Alaska for their construction projects. Upon this discovery and the potential existing that the bridge may have historic significance, the "rebuild campaign" was curtailed. However, the source of this valuable information was never identified nor was the information refuted.
If any of you are so inclined to come visit me, if you are traveling from the north, you will need to drive through the community of Anchor Point on the Sterling Highway. Eight miles south of Anchor Point, you will reach the intersection of the New and Old Sterling Highway. At this intersection, you will want to turn right on the Old Sterling Highway and drive north 8.6 miles to the last driveway on the left which will put you back in Anchor Point, except on the wrong side of the river. If you miss the driveway, you will realize it when you reach the bridge and it is closed.
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