$50 million of road work

PALMER — State and borough officials will work the next two weeks to finish construction projects, even as snow loomed along valley mountaintops this week.

Construction season 2014 saw an unprecedented level of construction along Mat-Su roads.

Borough officials were working to bring in the tail end of an unprecedented $50-million construction season, and worked to finish, in part or in whole, 14 major construction projects, according to capital projects director Mike Brown.

The five completed projects are:

The paving and extension of Willow Lake Drive.

The paving and upgrade of Hawk Lane in Houston from Houston High School to Beaver Lake Road.

The paving of Port MacKenzie Road all the way to the entrance gate for the port.

The extension of a paved pathway along the Glenn Highway as far north as Sutton.

The paving of the Knik River road out past Bodenburg Butte.

Four additional projects will mark “substantial completion” (meaning some minor additional work could be needed next year) by the time snow flies, including: the roundabout at the intersection of Seldon and Lucille and work along Vine, Machen and Caswell Lake roads, Brown said.

An additional four projects will continue construction through next season: work connecting Seldon and Church roads, extending Bogard Road to connect with Arctic Avenue (known as Bogard Phase II), work on what is called the “Clap Mack Clap” project that is paving S. Mack Drive from the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center through to Lucille Creek, and the Sullivan and Caudill Road upgrade from the Old Glenn Highway to Plumley Road.

The majority of the ongoing road construction projects were funded through a 2011 vote on a $32 million road bond issuance, while additional roads referendum in 2013 approved funding for an additional $16.2 million worth of construction, according to Brown.

Given the sheer number of large-scale road projects in the Valley this year, motorists could perhaps be understood for being somewhat sore, especially given that 2013 saw mostly minor projects.

“I don’t think we had any (projects) under construction” in 2013, he said. “We did have capital improvements, but on a much smaller scale.”

While the completion of many projects means less road construction for next year’s season, road projects will still total between $30 and $40 million for construction season 2015, according to Brown. Borough officials are aiming to put five projects out to bid for next year.

In addition, Bogard Road Phase II could pose substantial challenges for commuters to and from Colony High, Colony Middle, and Palmer High, Brown said. However, motorists might see a little bit less orange (and consequently, a little less red) next spring, summer and fall.

“There will be a little bit of a reprieve for motorists next year, just in terms of four of the five projects are new road segments,” he said.

However, as Bogard Phase II leaves the Colony schools area and then approaches Palmer High, many businesses could potentially be affected, Brown said.

State officials will also work to complete four construction projects this fall, though in many cases the completed projects are old news. The $2.8 million renovation of the Palmer-Wasilla Highway Spur between the Parks Highway and Knik Goose-Bay Road finished in September, according to Shannon McCarthy, a public information officer for the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Road work at the intersection of KGB and Fern Street completed in July.

Unfortunately, the most visible construction project for points west and north, the $15.9-million Parks Highway renovation, will enter a new phase this next year, though a lot of the area close to Wasilla is nearing completion, according to McCarthy.

“The reason why this was complicated was there were a lot of utility relocations,” she said.

In addition, a project on the edge of the Mat-Su Borough, the $25.9-million resurfacing between mile markers 123 and 146 of the Parks, aims to reduce annual maintenance even as the Parks sees additional freight traffic stemming from the completion of the Port MacKenzie Rail Spur in coming years, McCarthy said.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com