Crusey Street work lauded

April 26, 2005

DAWN De BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

A two-week closing of Crusey Street from the Parks Highway to Westpoint Drive may discourage drivers, but detours are posted and the imminent improvement project delights business owners in the area.

"We're happy to see it. We knew it was coming," said Dan Kennedy, a certified public accountant with a business on Westpoint Drive. "It might hurt businesses for three weeks, but the investment is worthwhile. The timing is good - now, before the May-June summer season."

Once the first phase of construction is complete, in two weeks, the intersection of Crusey Street and Westpoint Drive will be closed for two days. Then construction will continue on Crusey, from Westpoint to Swanson, closing that area for one week.

Crusey Street will become a four-lane road, with improvements to the curbs and gutters from the Parks Highway to Westpoint Drive. Intersections will be revamped at Crusey Street and the Parks Highway, which will get an overhaul resulting in a five-lane highway - a continuation of last summer's project.

DOT personnel recommend that drivers be on the lookout for detour signs along the roads as well as watch for heavy equipment and construction crews.

People approaching from the Parks Highway may gain access to businesses in the road-construction area by taking Yenlo Street or Main Street, both of which run north to Swanson Avenue or Bogard Road.

The installation of a 20-foot-deep storm drain accounts for why it will take approximately half of a month to finish the stretch of Crusey Street between the Parks Highway and Westpoint Drive. That storm drain will be tied into another storm drain west of the intersection at Crusey Street and Bogard Road, according to John Waisanen, a project engineer with the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Utilities.

DOT jumped on the storm drain project now so that it won't have to tear up the road later, he said.

As part of the pre-planning phase, DOT designed a temporary access - constructed from recycled asphalt - to provide secondary accesses to Midas Auto Parts and Pizza Hut, east of Crusey Street, and McDonald's, on the west side of Crusey Street. Vehicles can get to those businesses by taking Westpoint Drive.

On Friday, Waisanen made his rounds, talking to 55 people in the area - merchants as well as personnel with Brett Memorial Ice Arena.

"We made it a strong point to get out to businesses. They were 100 percent receptive. It gave them time to look ahead. For example, a doctor's office could call patients who have appointments this week and tell them about the detours," Waisanen said.

Signs posted on the Parks Highway will alert drivers about the detours.

"Those signs have been up since 8 a.m. I've had not one phone call from the traveling public," he said, looking at his watch around noon Friday.

Bruce Morgan, the store manager at NAPA Auto Parts, located on Westpoint Drive, said there hasn't been a noticeable change to sales at his store and the access from Bogard Road is still available to potential customers.

"It'll be a day or two before we can tell. Our retail business takes off right now with the nicer weather and people wanting to work on their cars," Morgan said, adding that Waisanen came into his store Friday, showing the schedule and closures.

Angela Powell, who works at CarQuest auto parts on East Swanson, said the road closure might lower the number of walk-in customers, but won't affect charge accounts with Valley mechanics.

"Most Alaskans know the road system by now," Powell said, referring to how locals know alternate routes.

Employees at McDonald's, which was provided a secondary access road, could not make an official comment without permission from media relations in the company's corporate office.

Sitting adjacent to McDonald's, with an alternate entryway from the Park's Highway, George's Family Restaurant isn't feeling any negative effects.

"Business is normal. They're not blocking off our driveway at all," said Joann McMahill, a waitress.

Kennedy said people who drive in the Wasilla area are getting accustomed to heavy construction projects.

"They're a part of life in an excellent, growing community," Kennedy said. "Kudos to DOT. You can't beat good infrastructure in this town."