New traffic light brings relief

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA -- It has become a common sight to see frazzled motorists nervously glancing back and forth as they prepare to put the pedal to the metal and enter the congested flow of traffic on the Parks Highway in Wasilla.

The problem is especially pronounced near Mat-Su Cinema, where, for several years now, motorists have had an increasingly difficult time just getting on and off the highway. With Lowe's opening in less than three weeks, traffic is virtually guaranteed to thicken.

Despite more traffic, the mad dashes across multiple lanes of traffic will be less necessary in a few weeks, when a temporary traffic light is installed at the intersection of Hermon Road and the Parks Highway.

The light will remain until a permanent one can be installed later.

Rick Feller, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said the light probably won't be functional when Lowe's opens.

"We will probably not coincide with their opening," he said, "but shortly after we hope to get a light up, before Christmas."

According to Feller, Lowe's has signed an agreement with DOT to pay for the traffic light, right-turn lanes and side-street turn lanes. The price is estimated to be as much as $667,000.

At Wasilla's most recent city council meeting, Wasilla Police Chief Don Savage said the traffic light was welcomed.

In the last six months the Wasilla Police Department has responded to 298 traffic accidents in Wasilla, 13 of those occurring on the Parks Highway between the Windbreak Caf/ and the Nye Ford dealership.

"I'm really concerned about safety," he said, "and we needed a light there."

See related article on page A11.