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Collapsed Alaska highway ramp reopens days after quake

A collapsed highway off-ramp in Alaska's largest city that became an iconic image of the destructive force of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake has been rebuilt and opened

A car ascends a newly repaired off-ramp of Minnesota Drive on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska. A massive 7.0 earthquake and its aftershocks rocked buildings and buckled roads Nov. 30, including the road that's a route to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Alaska transportation officials made rebuilding the ramp a priority. It reopened Tuesday, Dec. 4, and a crew completed shoulder work Wednesday. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)
A car ascends a newly repaired off-ramp of Minnesota Drive on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska. A massive 7.0 earthquake and its aftershocks rocked buildings and buckled roads Nov. 30, including the road that's a route to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Alaska transportation officials made rebuilding the ramp a priority. It reopened Tuesday, Dec. 4, and a crew completed shoulder work Wednesday. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)Read moreDan Joling / AP
    by DAN JOLING, The Associated Press
    Published 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A collapsed highway off-ramp in Alaska's largest city that became an iconic image of the destructive force of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake has been rebuilt and opened.

Alaska Department of Transportation spokeswoman Shannon McCarthy says the ramp to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport reopened early Tuesday, less than four days after the quake.

The ramp is one of eight damaged sites designated a highest priority for repairs.

McCarthy says federal and state declarations of an emergency allowed state highway officials to contact contractors soon after the ground stopped shaking.

Contractors immediately fired up asphalt plants, which have been idle since late October.

A car heading to the airport was on the ramp when it collapsed. No one inside the vehicle was injured.