Why Most of This Alaska Town Lives in One Building

Whittier, Alaska, is squeezed between Prince William Sound and steep mountains, with most residents living in Begich Towers and the town’s road access passing through a one-lane tunnel shared with trains. This documentary explains how those two unusual features are connected by the same underlying constraint: limited buildable land, difficult access, and a long history of reusing infrastructure instead of simply building more. Begich Towers grew out of Whittier’s military-era development and remains the town’s dominant housing center. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel began as a World War II railroad tunnel, later carried vehicles on rail flatcars, and was eventually converted so cars and trains could take turns using the same corridor. Together, they reveal how Whittier makes ordinary life work in a place where geography gives infrastructure very little room to spare. If you enjoy documentaries about how people make difficult places work, thank you for supporting MADE HABITABLE. Sources: City of Whittier — Economic Analysis for the Whittier Development Plan https://www.whittieralaska.gov/media/... Alaska DOT&PF — Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel: History https://dot.alaska.gov/creg/whittiert... Alaska DOT&PF — Tunnel Design https://dot.alaska.gov/creg/whittiert... #WhittierAlaska #BegichTowers #WhittierTunnel #AlaskaInfrastructure