New Trunk Road to open Thursday

MAT-SU — Just in case you haven’t seen the signs, perhaps as early as Thursday morning motorists will be able to drive on the new Trunk Road from the Parks Highway to the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

Trunk Road Project Engineer John Waisanen said that opening the road is contingent on weather. If the rain stays away into the evening, they can probably get the last of the stripes painted near the new roundabout.

“We’re attempting to get the striping complete and then once we get that complete we’ll have to open it,” he said.

There won’t be any fanfare, they’ll just take the cones down and switch on the stoplight at Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

The road has been under construction since last summer and is the first phase of a two-phase project. The second phase will begin soon, pushing the new road almost all the way to Palmer-Fishhook Road. The old Trunk Road will take drivers to essentially where the road ends now.

The idea all along has been to provide a wider, straighter road. The roundabout is the first in the Valley but the state has said drivers here should expect to see more in coming years.