Highway work in progress

DARRELL L. BREESE

Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Ah, summertime.

Time for cookouts, family get-togethers and vacations. Unfortunately, it's also the season for road construction.

Orange cones have started blossoming along the Parks Highways as Department of Transportation road projects get under way.

Traveling in and around the city of Wasilla will be a test of patience this summer because of the progressing road work.

John Waisanen, DOT project manager for the Parks Highway upgrade into Wasilla, urged drivers to be patient, slow down and stay alert in construction zones Monday as he updated the Wasilla City Council on the status of the Parks Highway renovation project.

"With nice weather we can extend the construction at either end of the season," Waisanen said. "We will have crews working on the Parks Highway from Seward Meridian all the way to Main Street. We hope to have things wrapped up by early fall."

Work has already begun on the Seward Meridian overpass, but also scheduled for this summer are the resurfacing of the Parks from Seward Meridian to the Palmer-Wasilla Highway intersection, reconstruction between the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Crusey Street and modifications to the road from Crusey to Main Street.

Mayor Dianne M. Keller bemoaned the construction, as a motorist, but expressed excitement about the improvements on tap.

"We have a lot of construction ahead of us," Keller said. "We all need to be patient as we get through it. It will get better. When it's all done it will be a wonderful improvement through the heart of Wasilla."

Waisanen added that there will continually be at least two lanes open during the course of all the projects.

"The Parks is one of the state's busiest highways," he said. "As uncomfortable as construction may seem, we hope to keep it moving for the people of Wasilla, motor homes and fishermen."

Wasilla Police Chief Don Savage shared plans to patrol the construction areas throughout the summer, encouraging motorists to obey posted speed limits and be cautious of workers.

Waisanen reported that work on the Seward Meridian overpass has started and that it is scheduled for completion by late June, with cars over the top by the first week in July. Attention will then turn to work under the span, and turn lanes and off ramps will be completed.

Coinciding with the overpass completion is a planned resurfacing of the highway from Seward Meridian to the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

The final phase of the plan is the shifting of the highway from the Palmer-Wasilla Highway to Crusey.

"That project hinges on the realignment of the railroad," Waisanen said. "They are shifting the tracks to the south and then we will begin work on shifting the highway to the south. I would expect to get this portion of the project under way by mid-summer."

He predicted completion of road work before winter.

"We hope to have the whole project wrapped up by late fall," he said. "There might be some landscaping and electrical work to do, but the major road work should be completed and the orange cones will be gone."

Darrell Breese may be reached at 352-2267 or darrell.breese

@frontiersman.com.