DOT makes adjustments for mushers

WASILLA -- At Saturday's Iditarod Trail Committee musher sign-in and volunteer banquet, held at the ITC headquarters on Knik-Goose Bay Road, the construction along Knik-Goose Bay -- and the difficulties of squeezing a mushing trail in beside a paved path set aside for non-motorized use had several mushers concerned.

By Monday, however, it appeared an agreement had been worked out with the Alaska Department of Transportation to address some of those concerns.

At issue is the paved, non-motorized path that is being built beside the road from its origin in Wasilla to Mile 7.5, near Settlers Bay, which crosses over a trail well-used by local residents. Mushers regularly use a portion of that trail, and when the Iditarod Restart is held in Wasilla, it's part of the official route.

Although mushers may use the paved path with sleds in winter, many practice in fall by hitching their dog teams to four-wheelers and running the route. When the paved bike path is installed in the area along Knik-Goose Bay Road, motorized use of the paved portion of the path -- except to cross it -- could be prohibited.

Alaska Administrative code 13.02.455 states that off-road vehicles may use road rights of way, providing that they are at least three feet from the road and, at night, travel only in the direction of traffic on the right side of the highway.

Although Alaska State Trooper Mike Burkmire said the administrative code is one they cite occasionally when dealing with drivers of off-road vehicles using paved paths, he doesn't issue a lot of citations based on that violation. That code, he said, states that trails must be designated or posted for only non-motorized use by the Alaska Department of Transportation.

"As long as DOT designates it, then we can enforce it," Burkmire said. "If it's not posted, not designated, it's just a nice, paved trail."

Burkmire said there are a few places where roadside paths are designated for non-motorized use only. Signs are posted in the Butte area of the Old Glenn Highway, and there is a sign along the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, midway in the 10-mile road. Because of conflicting uses, Burkmire said he has stopped off-road vehicle users and asked them to use unpaved trails where possible. He said troopers hope to spread the word among trail users that, although signs may not be posted along every paved trail, separating motorized and non-motorized users is their goal.

"It kind of gets the word out, but technically, we couldn't write them a ticket," Burkmire said. "I think it's going to be up to having DOT designate those trails out there, as to when we can enforce them."

Knik resident and musher Kelley Griffin said although she wants to be sure she and other mushers have a place to practice, it's not just trail use by mushers she's concerned about.

"It's not just us running our dogs; it's kids on dirt bikes and four-wheelers," Griffin said. "I think 90 percent of the users would prefer it unpaved."

Griffin's concerns, at least with mushers' access to the trail for dog-training purposes were addressed Monday when she and musher Dan Huttunen met with DOT Project Engineer Dave Filucci. The group met near Mile 7 Knik-Goose Bay Road, where a neighborhood trail intersects the trail paralleling Knik-Goose Bay Road. Although there is space enough for practicing mushers and off-road-vehicles to stay within the three-feet-from-the road guidelines along most of the trail, there's one part Griffin said, that's steep and particularly dangerous.

"I don't want to cross a bike path, and then a street -- there's just too much danger my dogs will take off across Knik-Goose Bay," Griffin said.

Griffin and Huttunen asked for a dirt ramp that would allow them to cross the bike path without rolling their four-wheelers or dogsleds, and another crossing at Wellington Drive.

Filucci said DOT will be able to accommodate the mushers' concerns, using a little extra fill dirt from a nearby site.

Huttunen said although he's glad to see his own concerns addressed, he's not sure it will solve the problems of all the mushers in the area. Many area mushers, he said, are busy with the seasonal work that pays the bills -- work that may take them away from their kennels in the summer.

"I feel funny about it, because this will not, I don't think, alleviate their concerns," Huttunen said. "I don't think a lot of them are really tuned in yet -- a lot of them aren't here."

Changing a project's design is not typically something done when a project is in the construction phase.

"The best procedure is to get involved in the planning process," Filucci said. "What we would hope for is that this sort of thing is done in the early design. But sometimes user groups haven't seen the plans, so we try to accommodate them as best we can."

Filucci said DOT has held several public hearings and met with local community council groups through a several-years-long planning process, and the input was considered during the planning process. Although the mushers' use of the trail was considered as part of the trail design, Filucci said sometimes design plans don't take into account smaller topographic changes that may affect the use of a trail.

"We've made adjustments all up and down the line," Filucci said.

Filucci said DOT tries to work with people in areas where road construction is going on, to address usage concerns where they can.

"We're happy to do that, to make minor adjustments here and there," Filucci said. "It may not seem like much, but it may make a major improvement to someone who lives right in the area."

The bike path is nearing completion, and DOT crews will begin working on the rehabilitation of the roadway from Mile 1 to the Goose Bay Airport at Mile 17. It's a big project, with resurfacing, rehabilitation and the bike trail included, along with several new turning lanes, a new concrete arch over Fish Creek and a scenic pull-out at Mile 14.5. Filucci said the project should be complete in September.

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.