Borough mulls road connection

WASILLA — Organizers came with eight possibilities for how to connect Trunk Road and Fairview Loop but those assembled Thursday didn’t seem to like any of them.

The borough and its contractors held their first meeting on the issue at Evangelo’s Restaurant. The meeting was designed to solicit ideas on where the road should go.

Borough Transportation Manager Brad Sworts said that from what he’s heard, complaints tend to fall into three categories.

The first come mainly from homeowners concerned that increased traffic will cause decreased safety.

Second, “Some of the alternative routes the developers don’t like because it cuts their land into unusable pieces,” Sworts said.

Then there are other homeowners who worry that a large road, though it might not cut through their property, would bring noise and obstruct views.

Tom Adams, project manager for Lounsbury and Associates, reminded the crowd repeatedly that the eight routes on the table are just ides, lines drawn on a map.

“There has not been a preferred alignment,” he said. But, “We need to find a road system that works.”

Right now, he said, quite a few people use Abby Boulevard to access areas the new road would serve. But that has been troubling to a number of residents since the road has driveways feeding it and was designed to be residential.

“You’re absorbing the traffic from places outside your subdivision,” Adams said. “This is what we’re trying to address.”

And it’s only going to get worse. Looking at proposed subdivisions in the area, Adams said, there are plans for more than 1,000 additional homes in the area. That could lead to nearly 8,000 more trips on neighborhood roads.

Adams presented a list of the eight alternatives and prices, some of which took into account developers’ willingness to kick in some of the funding:

• Connect Nelson Road to the Fairview Loop, crossing the railroad at ground level but with an improved crossing. Cost: $2.1 million.

• Connect Nelson to the Fairview Loop but separate the railroad crossing with an overpass. Cost: $13.7 million.

• Connect Nelson to the Fairview Loop, but move the connection farther west and separate the railroad crossing. Cost; $27.9 million.

• Extend Abby Boulevard. Cost: $900,000.

• Extend Trunk Road to Nelson using four-way stops at the Parks Highway. Cost: $5.1 million.

• Extend Trunk Road to Nelson using roundabouts at the Parks Highway. Cost: $4.9 million.

• Extend Brome Avenue, creating a thoroughfare between Abby and the Parks Highway. Cost: $5.4 million.

• Extend Nelson to Fairview Loop farther south about where Linlu Lane branches off. Cost: $3.9 million.

Concerns were bandied about that a lot of the alternatives would create more congestion at Old Matanuska Road and Fairview Loop, an intersection many in the room agreed was already dangerous.

George McKee, who lives on Linlu Lane, said he was concerned about routing traffic through his neighborhood.

“If you do you will definitely be seeing my attorney,” he said. “I will fight like a tiger to keep you guys from doing one damn thing like that.”

Mike Beaty, who owns Grizzly Espresso, said he resented having to talk to the borough at all. He viewed the problem as one for the subdivision developers and not one for the borough.

He also took exception to any assertion that roundabouts at Trunk Road were a good idea.

“I don’t care who designed it, they’re an idiot,” he said.

The borough plans to hold more meetings on the topic. Money has not yet been obtained to build any of the alternatives. The eventual proposal will have to go before the borough’s Planning Commission and Assembly for approval.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.