The state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is preparing to harness federal tax dollars to target Muldoon Road's high crash rate.
A raised median and mid-block pedestrian safety areas are among the recommendations for the Northeast Anchorage corridor. DOT engineers hope the measures will help lower a crash rate they say is in some places three to four times higher than the state average for similar roads.
The project is estimated to cost $4 million, funded by federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. DOT officials said the department plans to advertise construction bids in the spring and has scheduled an open house for later this month.
Muldoon Road is nearly 4 miles long, stretching from Tudor Road in the south to the Glenn Highway and Tikahtnu? Commons shopping center to the north. Two lanes run in each direction, and a two-way left turn lane runs through the center.
Every day, about 30,000 cars travel on Muldoon. The road was paved in the late 1960s, and traffic has steadily increased over the years as a result of commercial and residential development in the area.
Between 2005 and 2009, the state recorded almost 300 crashes on Muldoon Road between 11th Court and Boundary Avenue, above the statewide average for similar roads, said Carla Smith, DOT traffic project manager. Almost 70 of those crashes were right-angle crashes, and the majority happened between light signals, Smith said.
Nearly half the crashes resulted in injuries, and four were pedestrian crashes between light signals, Smith said.
She also forwarded a map showing a cluster of accidents on the road near Peck Avenue.
Despite high pedestrian activity, closely spaced driveways and multiple lanes, the section of road has no raised median except near traffic signals.
Compared to other DOT projects, this one is being fast-tracked, bypassing the department's normal project development and scoping process. That's because the Highway Safety Improvement Program is designed to let agencies move more quickly and efficiently, aimed at reducing injuries, said Scott Thomas, DOT central region traffic engineer.
"Our main purpose, the main purpose, is to reduce severe crashes, fatalities and major injuries," Thomas said. "All injuries, if possible."
Overall, the federal program requires state agencies to look at historical crash data, track and plan fixes for safety problems in the state, and follow up to show results.
In the case of Muldoon Road, "we know the solution, we know what type of crash (it is)," said Shannon McCarthy, DOT spokeswoman. "When (drivers) turn left, they get hit on the right-hand side."
Muldoon Road is not the first five-lane Anchorage corridor to be targeted for what is referred to as "channelization," the addition of raised medians to reduce crash rates. DeBarr Road, Lake Otis Parkway and Tudor Road have also received safety improvements through the same federal program.
More than five years ago, the improvements were installed in south Muldoon, and the proposed project is a continuation of that, Thomas said.
During a Friday morning media briefing in Muldoon about the project, a group of DOT officials and reporters watched as two men wandered across the road, nowhere near a crosswalk. The men paused in the middle turn lane to wait for oncoming traffic.
It was illegal for the men to cross the road, Thomas said.
"But if they do that, it's a lot safer for them if they're standing on a refuge island" on a median, he said.
DOT officials have presented the plan to the Northeast Community Council, which voted at its last meeting to reduce the speed limit on the road from 40 mph to 35 mph in response to safety concerns. The council's parliamentarian, Dave Ulmer, said in a phone interview that the council hasn't yet taken a stance for or against the project. He acknowledged traffic is a problem in the area, and the main concern is how the median will change traffic patterns, as similar projects have in other parts of Anchorage.
"People get used to making left turns here or there," Ulmer said. "They'll have to change traffic patterns. (But) once you get used to it, it's the normal thing to do."
An open house on the plan is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at Begich Middle School. Officials said the public is invited to look at the design of the project, ask engineers questions, offer comments and input, and talk about experiences driving on the road.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Scott Thomas said it is legal for pedestrians to cross Muldoon Road outside a crosswalk. It is not legal.