Bogard Bottleneck: DOT weighing options for congestion at Bogard-Seldon intersection

WASILLA — Lines of cars at Bogard and Seldon rapidly block driveways, then intersections, on any given afternoon.

At about 4 p.m. on Thursday last week, one car became two became four became eight became 16. Before long, visitors to nearby Little Miller’s ice cream stand were cutting through standstill eastbound traffic on Bogard to get a cone.

The lines of traffic have become so bad, they’ve spawned hand-painted road signs. Surrounding businesses hand out free bumper stickers decrying the conditions at the intersection.

Lines of cars can stretch back as far as Caribou Lane, about a mile from the intersection, and last from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., said Sheila Slocum, a manager at the Valley Country Store.

Frustrated customers have pulled in complaining of lines as long as 70 or more cars, she said. Frustrated drivers have taken to using the store’s parking lot, and the surrounding subdivision, as a high-speed short cut, she said.

“We have the issue anyway with people driving fast through here, but it’s a lot more,” she said.

Given a magic wand, Slocum said she would prefer officials install a stoplight at the corridor. When Department of Transportation officials installed a flashing red light on a pole at the intersection, she thought a full traffic light wouldn’t be far behind. While the traffic light hasn’t materialized, the red light has made drivers more careful around the intersection, Slocum said.

Borough officials say their hands are tied because Bogard road is maintained by the Alaska Department of Transportation. They’ve made recommendations to the state officials for some kind of measures to be taken at the intersection, and favor a roundabout to allow traffic to continuously move. Both Director of Public Works Terry Dolan and Capital Projects Director Jude Bilafer acknowledged difficulties with traffic at the intersection.

“It’s wretched,” Bilafer said.

Traffic at the Bogard-Seldon intersection is due in part to the road’s success, Bilafer said. The borough’s long-range transportation plan has always called for the creation of additional east-west corridors to alleviate traffic on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Parks Highway, Bilafer said. When Bogard Road was extended to the Glenn Highway last year, it immediately became the preferred alternative to the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, which contributed to congestion, Bilafer said. Congestion at an intersection ill-equipped to handle it has led to complaints, Bilafer said.

“It’s probably the number one most complained-about road in the borough that I receive calls on,” he said.

And Bilafer and Dolan both said a roundabout or traffic circle would be the ideal outcome — borough officials generally prefer roundabouts over traffic lights because they’re easier to maintain — but say state officials must ultimately make the call. That hasn’t stopped borough officials from forwarding complaints, taking photos of the intersection, or giving traffic counts to state officials, Bilafer said.

“We’re trying to energize the system,” he said.

State officials have only recently begun to examine the issue, and don’t have a timeline for any potential fixes, said DOT spokeswoman Shannon McCarthy.

For now, the emphasis is on congestion, and not safety, though the DOT’s Highway Safety Group has examined the intersection, McCarthy said.

“This is not a high-crash intersection,” she said. “The issue is congestion. We don’t like congestion because it can lead to people making a quick decision that isn’t the safest decision.”

In the meantime, customers can do little about traffic but complain, Slocum said.

“I know we hear it a lot in here,” she said.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.