Satellite imagery shows that the trenching effort has diverted flowing water away from the highway. In this image, the dark colored spots indicate locations of flowing water. Originally, there were multiple bright blue areas, meaning water was near the road. Now, there are minimal dark green areas, indicating fewer sections of flowing water near the road.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/64342602@N05">Alaska DOT&amp;PF</a>
CC BY 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/akdotpf/27118524875/">Satellite imagery of Dalton Highway, February-March 2016</a>