Blasting work interruptions to traffic flow, and resultant road closures, on the Seward Highway will move to an earlier time in the day beginning August 21st.
QAP General Contractors announced in an updated schedule of the work being performed by QAP, Southeast Road Builders, and the Alaska Department of Transportation, that the daily blasting between Moose Pass and Seward would begin earlier in the day starting on the 21st, and that the road would be closed weekly during the updated, earlier times of those operations. Weekly blasting, as well as the accompanying road closures, will continue as planned through August 20th.
Per the current schedule, the MP 17-22.5 Project section of the Seward Highway is closed Monday – Thursday, from 9:30pm – 11:00pm. From August 21 to September 15, those times will be moved up to 8:30pm – 10:00pm. After September 15th, and through the end of the construction season, the road will be closed between 9:00am and 10:00am, Monday through Thursday.
In the announcement, which was released on August 7th, QAP stated, “Due to already decreasing light conditions the blasting schedule is being adjusted to be performed slightly earlier.”
The release also states, “QAP and [Southeast Road Builders] do not anticipate needing the full duration of the closures, and will work diligently to reopen to a minimum of one lane with a pilot car as soon as [is] safe to do so. However, due to unforeseen circumstances it may result in utilizing the full closure duration to safely reopen the highway to traffic.”
The Seward Highway Rehabilitation Project (MP 17-22.5) runs runs roughly between Teddy’s Inn The Woods Bed and Breakfast, and the Primrose Campground.
All current road construction affects on traffic conditions can be found by visiting the Alaska DOT traveler information website, https://511.alaska.gov/.
