Despite Assembly’s action, Seward Highway improvement project is as important now as ever

“Our decisions about transportation determine much more than where roads or bridges or tunnels or rail lines will be built. They determine the connections and barriers that people will encounter in their daily lives - and thus how hard or easy it will be for people to get where they need and want to go.” - Rep. Elijah Cummings

Anchorage roads were very thoughtfully laid out on a rectangular grid so there were many connections to travel east-west or north-south. Unfortunately, many of the road segments to complete the transportation grid were not all completed. With the completion of the Seward Highway Corridor Study in 2005, recognizing how the lack of connections contributes to congestion on main arterials and traffic snarls at intersections, Gov. Frank Murkowski and Mayor Mark Begich to sign an agreement to “Connect Anchorage.” It was an agreement to cooperatively build out as many of the missing segments to connect and complete the grid. Some examples of these completed connections are the Bragaw Street Extension from Tudor Road to Abbott Road, the C Street Extension from Dimond Boulevard to Minnesota Drive, and the Dowling Road Extension from C Street to Minnesota Drive.

At the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, we take transportation connections seriously. Building infrastructure and completing these missing connections brings neighborhoods closer to business, work, school, recreation and other neighborhoods.

The Seward Highway is one of Alaska’s most important transportation links, carrying more than 42,000 vehicles a day. But it cuts through the middle of our road grid, separating neighborhoods from business and schools. Because there are so few ways to get across, its interchanges are overloaded, causing delay and congestion. The current infrastructure will continue to lag behind demand, and there is minimal access for bikes or pedestrians to cross the highway. The lack of connectivity concentrates all traffic, including non-motorized traffic, at major intersections, contributing to high crash rates.

For decades the department has invested in improving the Seward Highway through Anchorage. A few years ago, we completed the reconstruction of 36th Avenue to Dowling Road, and recently completed Dowling Road to Dimond Boulevard, which included the new overpass at 76th Avenue. Now, we are close to constructing the Dimond Boulevard to O’Malley Road segment. The project includes widening the highway to six lanes, reconfiguring two existing interchanges, Dimond and O’Malley, and constructing a new overpass at Scooter Avenue to allow for vehicles and pedestrians to cross under the highway. This final project will result in an increase in capacity, new connections to surrounding neighborhoods and safety improvements, including more non-motorized connections. This will provide bicyclists and pedestrians more options to move east and west via underpasses, with wider sidewalks and bike lanes.

The overpass at Scooter Lane on the west and Academy on the east would connect to a city project at Vanguard and continue to an improved intersection at Dimond Boulevard. Recently, surprised by the increase in the cost of their Vanguard/Academy project, the Anchorage Assembly backed away from it. While the assembly’s move to defund their Academy/Vanguard project was a surprise to DOT&PF, the purpose and need for the state’s upgrade of the Seward Highway and the new east-west connection is as valid today as it was in 2005. In fact, the east-west connection from Scooter to Academy is incredibly important and compliments the city’s Vision Zero program towards increasing multi-model connections and reducing pedestrian and bicycle crashes.

DOT&PF stands ready to assist the municipality to forge a path forward—we are painfully aware that the scope of a project can creep until it becomes a financial burden. We are committed to connecting the community and offer our assistance to figure out a way to get this project done. That was our offer when the project started in 2005, and that is our offer today. These projects are needed, so let’s find a way to get them done—our community wants to be connected, so we can move freely—whether by car, bike or on our own two feet.

John MacKinnon is the commissioner of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. He was previously the executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska.

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