The Alaska Department of Transportation is expecting over $330 million in statewide road construction project this season, one of the largest in the past decade.
Shannon McCarthy with the DOT said those funds a mostly federal monies or projects that were allocated to happen in prior years.
McCarthy: “One of the projects is Seward Highway, milepost 50-54.5, that will be pavement preservation on the Seward. We’re also wrapping up Homer East End Road. We’re also doing Sterling Highway, we’re doing improvements from milepost 135 – milepost 150, that will be resurfacing and it will include curb ramps, guardrails, deliniators, drainage, that sort of thing. And then in Soldotna we’re installing the Birch Road signal at the Sterling Highway.”
The Birch Road Intersection in Soldotna was spurred by the increased traffic near Soldotna Creek Park and includes…
McCarthy: “Add traffic signals to the intersection of Birch Street and Sterling Highway, widen Birch Street for turn pockets, relocate utilities, add drainage features, and maintain the existing pathways.”
That project will aim to improve the safety for both traffic and pedestrians in that area.
McCarthy: “People who are coming off of side streets, say from the Park or from the other side of the street have to wait a very long time to get out into traffic and when people have to wait a long time they tend to take a little bit more chances than they should, there just aren’t adequate gaps for them to work into traffic.”
Travelers may check 511.alaska.gov or call 511 for construction delays during the summer.