DOT urges drivers to avoid Palmer-Wasilla, Seward Meridian intersection

WASILLA – The state’s Department of Transportation is making repairs tonight to the stoplight at Seward Meridian Parkway and Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Traffic is being rerouted around the intersection.

Motorists are encouraged to consider another east-west route, according to DOT.

“We’re trying to advise people to kind of steer clear of that intersection as much as possible,” said department spokesman Rick Feller. He suggested Bogard Road and Parks Highway as possible alternatives.

DOT has been working since the wind started blowing to repair broken traffic signals, he said.

“We have repaired, to at least a useable degree, all of the signals except at this point the intersection of Seward-Meridian Parkway and the Palmer-Wasilla Highway,” Feller said, just before 2:30 p.m. “Hopefully by tonight we will have that restored but it will mean another rush hour of traffic backing up on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.”

Wind tends to wreak havoc on DOT signs and traffic lights, he said. Signs are torn down and signals actually break free of their wiring and fall to the ground. He said that in the case of Seward Meridian and Palmer-Wasilla, the wind not only damaged the actual lights that hang above the street but also blew out an electrical box.

“So we needed to replace that box and also a good part of the hardware that people see involved with the signal,” he said.