The balanced budget finalized by the Alaska legislature near the end of their recent legislative session includes an allotted $92.6 million for maintenance and improvements to Kenai Peninsula roads.
Snow removal on the peninsula, which has been criticized in recent years as untimely and insufficient, will receive $1.3 million to hire more workers to remove snow during winter. The funds are wrapped into a package designated for road maintenance.
Flooding along K-Beach road has been another contentious area over the last several years. $2.7 million of the designated funds will go to drainage improvements to address that flooding. In August of 2023, the Borough Assembly appropriated $175,000 for an engineering study into the flooding issue. The hope was to find long-term solution recommendations for the high-water issues.
The largest portion of the allotted funds, $88.6 million, will go to road improvements in Kenai, Soldotna, and across the borough, including upgrading lighting, repaving crumbling asphalt, and realigning roadways to improve safety.
“Most of the funding allocated for the Kenai Peninsula this year is for the Cooper Landing Bypass and Sterling Highway Safety Corridor projects,” said District D Senator Jesse Bjorkman. “Having safe passage on our busiest roads is vital to life on the Kenai. These projects will greatly improve safety on the Sterling Highway.”
For the second year in a row, the legislature passed a balanced budget that stays within Alaska’s income and avoids drawing from state savings.
A dividend of $1,655 will also be paid to every Alaskan this fall, which includes a $295 energy relief payment approved in the FY24 budget.
Any additional revenue will be split between an energy relief payment next fall and the State’s savings accounts.
