Detours at Glenn Highway on-ramps to and from Palmer

WASILLA — Even though the traffic bottlenecks along the Glenn and Parks Highways created by the Alaska State Fair have come to an end, drivers utilizing the northbound Glenn Highway off-ramp to Palmer, and the southbound Glenn Highway on-ramp from Palmer south will face detours over the next several weeks.

Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) Assistant Project Manager Charlie Mathis said paving on the two ramps, as well as related bridge work, was suspended during the State Fair’s 12-day run. That wrapped up Sept. 5. The detour on the northbound Glenn into Palmer began Tuesday and is expected to run approximately one week.

Drivers can take the Parks Highway north and exit onto Trunk Road and take one of two routes to reach Palmer. The first is the Palmer-Wasilla Highway directly, or the southbound Glenn back to the Palmer exit. Mathis said once work is completed on the northbound Palmer off-ramp, the second detour will be set up. He said that involves taking the Trunk Road off-ramp across the Trunk Road overpass and looping back onto Glenn Highway.

Mathis said the work is part of an overall project that began last fall.

“We’re at the end stages and we have two to three weeks left,” Mathis said. “The detours are clearly marked and each one should take about a week. But that is subject to weather. We’ve got paving to do and if we get rain, (that could delay work). Once we get the first part done, we’ll flip things over to the other side.”

Anyone wishing to receive email updates on the project should contact ParksHighway35-40@spawnak.com