DOT plans changes for Seward-Meridian

WASILLA -- One of the Valley's most heavily used and congested roadways may find relief in the near future, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation.

DOT held an open house Thursday to discuss its plans to improve the Seward-Meridian parkway. Department officials sought input from Valley residents concerning their intentions to both renovate and extend the road.

"The proposed project(s) will increase the capacity of the roadway along the existing portion, replace water and sewer mains and services as needed, construct a new portion of road between Bogard Road and Seldon Road, and construct pedestrian facilities along the entire 3-mile length," states DOT's proposal. However, it is not yet certain whether all of these plans will reach fruition, and the tasks are sure to be performed in sequence rather than at once.

First on the department's agenda, and the only project with a definite start date, is the construction of a new traffic light at the intersection of the Seward-Meridian Parkway and Bogard Road. According to Ken Morton, traffic design engineer for DOT, these plans have been finalized and no further preliminaries are called for.

"What we're looking to do is widen the intersection and add turn lanes, then just plunk in a traffic signal," Morton said. "The money is there already. We don't anticipate any problems with funding, and our analyses indicate that it'll work very efficiently."

Work on the Bogard intersection is slated to begin this summer.

The second, larger project on DOT's agenda is the extension of the Seward-Meridian Parkway one mile northward to intersect with Sheldon Road (sometimes called the Bogard extension). This project has been talked about for some time, but the department's plans have only recently begun to solidify. The first step is discussing the matter with residents.

"We're just interested in getting comments and ideas from the public right now," said Cynthia Ferguson, project manager for Seward-Meridian. Ferguson said DOT has not yet agreed on whether to pursue such matters as lane widening, new speed limits or pedestrian access, and seeks input on these issues specifically from Valley residents.

Ferguson speculates that construction on the Seward-Meridian extension could begin as early as 2005, but admits that this estimate is "very ambitious." DOT still needs to perform wetlands and archaeological surveys in the summer of 2004 before construction can be considered.

The extension is being bankrolled using federal Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle funds, which allow the state to go into bonded indebtedness with the guarantee of future funding. These bonds are a new concept in the world of federal funding, and their constitutionality is still under debate. Needless to say, if the GARVEE program is compromised, DOT's plans will have to wait.

But the outlook remains good for speedy execution of the project.

"We don't see any problems on the horizon," Ferguson said. Though the land slated to be used for the extension is close to both several private homes and the Alcantra Armory, Ferguson is confident that an agreement can be reached that will satisfy all involved parties.

Although the existing parkway is slated to be improved at some point in the future, Ferguson said that "right now our focus is on doing the extension," and predicts that the road will receive further attention once plans for the extension are completed.

According to a DOT study, the renovation is necessary due to existing traffic congestion, which is only expected to increase in the future, as the area surrounding Bogard, Sheldon, and the parkway develops further.