More stoplights for busy roadways

PALMER — Road construction season in the Valley has begun. Most notably along the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Knik Goose Bay Road where workers are installing new stoplights

When the Phase II improvements to the Palmer-Wasilla Highway are completed, three new intersections will have stoplights, said Merle Sena of the Department of Transportation. The roadway will have new stoplights at Shennum and Shoreline drives, and new lights will go up at both Midtown and Golden Hills drives, but the two will be combined into one massive offset intersection.

Coming from both the east and the west, there will be right turn lanes at the beginning of the intersection, lanes going straight through, and lanes to turn left at the end of the intersection. The highway will continue out of the intersection with only one lane in each direction.

Local cab drivers are not excited about the idea.

“If they don’t have the lights timed right,” said Brenda Myers of R&B Taxi, “it will back everything up. It happened when they put the light on Lucille.”

The Phase II improvements will also replace five control cabinets at intersections with existing lights on the highway. The new cabinets will have better technology for traffic timing and the detection of cars and pedestrians.

On Knik-Goose Bay Road, new stoplights are going up at both the Vine Road and Fairview Loop intersections.

“Construction is construction,” said Sena, “but the projects should be completed by late summer.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or (907) 352-2252.