It’s pretty normal for people in cities and towns across the globe to have a nightlife and stay out late on weekends, but that isn’t the case everywhere. Tucked on the west side of Prince William Sound in Alaska’s Valdez-Cordova County is a strange little town that is so connected and so isolated at the same time. This is because there’s only one way to reach the town other than a boat, which is by driving through a one-way tunnel that runs underneath the glacier and must be crossed before 10 PM.
Abiding by a strict curfew, the town cuts off itself from the rest of the world each night, as the tunnel is closed. The tunnel’s timetable is an official timekeeping system that all people in the town must follow, reports UNILAD. The town named Whittier, also dubbed the “strangest town in Alaska” is home to around 270 people, all of whom live in one 14-story building called Begich Towers, that served as an American military base during the Cold War. It also houses facilities such as a post office, a laundromat, a little market, a convenience store, a church, and a police station, as per NPR. The massive residential complex has also been described as a “town under one roof.” Even the school here is connected to the building through an underground passage. So when a kid has to go to school, they just take the building’s elevator, and walk to the school through the passage, as per CNN. People usually walk to work in their pajamas, greeting each other and work-life boundaries are obviously blurred. “We’re all family here,” the residents told CNN.
In the building’s basement is a walkway that resembles a labyrinth of storage cages and freezers that are rented out for $15 a month. On the first floor is a small convenience store called Kozy Korner that sells all kinds of junk food including ramen noodles to packets of chips, burritos, pastas, icecreams, and even makeup. Apart from the store, there is also a garden and indoor playground in the Begich Towers. “God’s little acre,” is how a Californian artist and mom of two, Brenda Tolman described the town to CNN.
With 22 feet of snow raining each year, the town is engulfed by towering snow-capped mountains and glaciers. But during all these dark snowy nights, the sight of the town turns a little creepy as it locks itself behind the ancient tunnel.
The 2.5-mile-long Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel connects Whittier with the rest of the world but is accessible only from one side. So, people here need to ensure that they’re not driving from the one end when it’s time for people to cross from the opposite side. According to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, the traffic starts at 5:30 a.m., continuing until 11:15 p.m. in summer, whereas it runs between 7 a.m. and 10:45 p.m. in winter. Failing to cross the tunnel and reach the town on time means that the driver would have to spend the night locked away, as the department told UNILAD. So, in the dead of the night, as the World War II rail tunnel is shut down, the Whittierites slip inside their cozy homes and don’t even think about stepping outside.
