Knik-Goose Bay Road construction open house draws a crowd

WASILLA — The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities held the latest in a planned series of public open houses for an approximate 6.5-mile stretch of Knik-Goose Bay Road Tuesday evening.

The gathering’s intentions, according to ADOT&PF Project Manager Andrea Morton, was to both educate the public on where the project stands and also to answer questions. Morton said the open house drew a larger crowd than expected.

“We had 118 people attend,” said Morton. “There are a lot of concerns with the amount of congestion, right-of-way acquisitions, left-hand turn lanes.”

This phase of KGB improvements is scheduled to begin construction in 2020. It will convert the current stretch of single-lane, two-way traffic in one of the Valley’s most congested areas into a four-lane, divided roadway. A separated multi-use pathway will remain on the north side of the road that will have 4-foot inside shoulders, and 8-foot outside shoulders. Another incorporated aspect, to address safety and congestion concerns, will be proposed controlled access breaks in the median every half mile. Transition areas will expand the roadway north and south of the construction areas to match the existing traffic flow.

Morton said the final design phase of the project is about 50 percent complete. She said the department has secured about 75 percent of the necessary right-of-way acquisition. The last open house for the project was held in August of 2016.

“We were very happy to get public input and feedback,” Morton said. “(The open house) was very successful.”

Morton said another open house on this phase of KGB will likely take place this winter. ADOT&PF also has another major infrastructure improvement project for KGB in the planning. Another three-plus miles, continuing south from Vine Road to Settlers Bay is about 75 percent complete in the design phase. ADOT&PF officials stated prior to construction, the state will need to secure right-of-way agreements. Began in May of 2016, that aspect of the project is expected to take about 1 1/2 years to complete.

The project will reconstruct and realign the existing two-lane road and will include pedestrian facilities, turn pockets, access management, traffic signals, lighting and additional infrastructure upgrades. According to ADOT&PF, the corridor experiences low performance and high collision rates—especially during peak hours, due to limited capacity and high-density driveway access. The state said congestion issues are only expected to increase, spurred by ongoing development in the stretch, and future land development in the Point MacKenzie area.

The entire roadway was designated by ADOT&PF as a traffic safety corridor in 2009. KGB’s fatal accident rate was 3.8 times the national average.