Old Glenn widening project continues this summer

DAWN DE BUSK /Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - A construction project that will widen the Old Glenn Highway is slated to continue this summer.

Last summer, the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities improved the first 11 miles, from the Anchorage side to Plumley Road.

"We wanted to get it done quickly," said Judy Dougherty, DOT's design section project manager.

The completion of the Old Glenn Highway project - funded by general obligation bonds and statewide transportation improvements program monies that total $9.75 million - covers the area between Plumley and the city of Palmer and includes widening the road to create 6-foot-wide shoulders, placing guard rails where needed and adding a paved pathway from the Matanuska River bridge into Palmer.

"DOT will see if turn pockets are warranted at some of the intersections, so [drivers] can wait for an opportunity to turn left without fear of being rear-ended," Dougherty said.

More funding may later be added to the project.

As with the Trunk Road realignment project, right-of-way acquisition must be made. About 30 homeowners will be affected by the Old Glenn Highway project. A large part of the budget will also go toward moving utilities, Dougherty said.

"It's a very old road," she said. "The history is that the road was put in where people were homesteading. DOT only owns the road between the ditches."