Drivers can expect rough spots off Seward Meridian as major road work continues
The rough access spots are part of a widening project.
What you need to know:
- Side road access from the construction zone on Seward Meridian Parkway could be rough for the next two months as approaches are stripped to gravel for a major widening project.
- Work will focus on the west side of the thoroughfare as crews fill an embankment, construct side road approaches, install drains and culverts, and lay components for traffic signals and lighting.
- The $44 million project also includes new stoplight intersections, more than 100 streetlights, a new connector road and a new bike path.
WASILLA – Travel onto side roads from the Seward Meridian Parkway construction zone could be slow and rough over the next two months while the pavement is stripped down to gravel as part of a major widening project on the busy thoroughfare.
The work will affect a series of medical offices on the west side of the roadway for the next six or seven weeks, as well as the entrance to Cottonwood Elementary School and the Central Mat-Su Fire Department Station 65 staff parking lot, construction officials said.
Crews are working along the one-mile stretch to create a new travel lane and bike path by filling an embankment, reconstructing the side road approaches, installing drains and culverts, and laying components for lighting and a series of traffic signals, officials said.
Once that is done, traffic will be shifted to include the newly constructed lane while crews focus on the other side of the road, they said.
“If all goes according to plan, which it rarely does, we hope to have two lanes of bottom-lift asphalt completed and traffic shifted to the west side in late June,” said Jonathan Tague, a state Department of Transportation project engineer overseeing the work.
Flaggers stationed at busy entry points helped with traffic control under steady rain Monday as construction equipment operated by contractor Mass X scooped and rolled along the site.
Tague said travel along the road should remain two lanes during the day but may drop to one lane overnight. The speed limit through the construction zone is currently reduced to 35 mph.
The bulk of the $44 million federally funded project is slated for completion this fall, Tague said.
The plan calls for widening most of the road to four lanes and includes a newly constructed section connecting the northern portion in front of Mat-Su Career & Technical High School to the segment that begins south of Bogard Road.
The project also adds more than 100 new streetlights, three new signalized intersections, and a series of right-in, right-out-only entries and exits. A boat portage at Cottonwood Creek used for a popular canoe trail will be closed through the summer as crews install a new bridge.
About 13,000 vehicles travel the road daily, according to state traffic data.
Plans also include changes to the Lakeview Road entrance at its intersection with Seldon Road and Seward Meridian Parkway. That approach will be straightened, and a new mini roundabout will be installed, Tague said. Work on that section is expected to begin next month.
Construction began for the season with 24/7 operations in early March, then scaled back to five days a week, Tague said.
After a slight delay while digging into Cottonwood Creek to prepare for the new bridge, supervisors are looking to make up time and will again add Saturday work, he said.
“Just a couple things like that, and it doesn’t take long to mess up a schedule that then has a knock-on effect,” he said.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com
