The G South Alternative has been deemed the preferred route for the project known as the Cooper Landing bypass that will update the Sterling Highway from milepost 45-60.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration identified the G South Alternative as the best route to reduce congestion, improve safety, and update the road to current standards.
According to the press release, the G South Alternative would “construct 5.5 miles of new alignment skirting north of Cooper Landing, reconnecting with the existing alignment near MP 52. This alternative would construct two new bridges, one over lower Juneau Creek and one over the Kenai River, and replace an existing bridge over the Kenai River. Additionally, the route would reconstruct 8 miles of the existing highway.”
The road to Cooper Landing would remain accessible near where the G South Alternative meets back up with the current highway at milepost 52.
The DOT release stated that hundreds of public comments were received following the public review of the various alternatives and draft supplemental environmental impact statement this spring.
Alternative G was chosen because “the routing avoids impacts to the Resurrection Pass Trail, the Juneau Falls Recreation Area and important cultural properties, and avoids using designated wilderness land within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The alternative skirts the Cooper Landing community to reduce community impacts associated with traffic, noise and property acquisition.”
The decision on the route is not final until a record of decision, an action expected along with the project’s final EIS in 2016.
Construction could begin as early as 2018.
Click here for a video by the DOT on what the South G Alternative route would look like.