Web site offers preview of city road projects this summer

March 08, 2010

The city is planning to improve the intersection at Lake Otis Parkway and Tudor Road this summer to relieve congestion along Tudor. (Shawn Wilson/KTUU-DT)

by Christine Kim
Sunday, March 7, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The city says this summer will be another busy year for road construction in Anchorage. Some of the planned repairs will relieve congestion on roads and improve sidewalks.

"It's our construction season to get some of these projects done, from sometime middle of May to the middle of October," said Jerry Hansen with the city's Department of Project Management and Engineering.

Within that short time frame, the city will conduct dozens of construction projects -- projects that you can now find now on the city's Web site.

"I think this will be a little easier for the public to find the information," Hansen said.

The site will also list what upgrades will be done at each site and contact information for project managers.

One priority project, widening the intersection at Lake Otis Parkway and Tudor Road, is expected to start in the spring. The city says with the current traffic volumes it'll need to improve the roads, and this intersection is just one example of many.

"Most of the work there will be done at night, but there's going to be equipment barricades and people there for a good portion of the summer," Hansen said. "And hopefully when we get done, we'll have some improvement on that intersection."

After it's done, Lake Otis and Tudor will have dual left-turn lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane in all directions.

Residents in the Tudor area say construction in their neighborhood is never-ending. Crews widened and added sidewalks to Macinnis Street a few years ago, and between summer work on Lake Otis and Tudor and 36th Avenue and Macinnis, one community council member says there will be challenges.

"We anticipate a lot of pass-through traffic, with people trying to avoid Lake Otis and Tudor will probably cut through our neighborhood at an unfortunately high rate of speed," said Tudor Area Community Council secretary Sheli Dodson. "Which is a concern with neighbors, especially with kids."

The repairs for these roads aren't cheap. The city says construction costs for this summer alone will be about $75 million -- but with all the traffic, Dodson says it's a necessary improvement.

"There's always something happening," Dodson said. "The wear and tear on the road is such that by the time they finish repaving they're starting over again at the other end, so it's continuous."

It's a continuous cycle but like they say, there are two seasons in Alaska: winter and the construction season.

Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com

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