Glenn Highway

Anchorage police responded to a single-vehicle accident on the Glenn Highway near Muldoon early Sunday evening. According to police, the vehicle in the crash at about 5 p.m. rolled several times on the highway's median between Turpin Street and Muldoon Road. Three young men were injured, one seriously. Police closed one inbound and one outbound lane of the Glenn while responding to the accident. All lanes of the Glenn are now open again.

If you travel the Glenn Highway frequently, you've probably passed it hundreds of times without batting an eye, or turning a head. Driving east from Anchorage, you can faintly see it off to the right at Peter's Creek: the Old Glenn Highway bridge. It's become largely forgotten over the past few decades, mostly with the construction of the bigger, faster Glenn Highway in 1976. Before then, the bridge, built more than a half-century ago -- when Alaska was still a territory -- was the only connection for those driving up the Al-Can, or who just wanted to drive to the Mat-Su.

One outbound lane of the Glenn Highway was closed for slightly over an hour Monday afternoon after a rollover crash near Eagle River, according to Anchorage police. APD spokesperson Anita Shell says a truck headed north and towing a vehicle rolled beneath the Hiland Road overpass at about 3:15 p.m. Initial details on the crash weren't clear, but it apparently didn't involve any other vehicles. While nobody was injured in the crash, Shell says cleanup at the scene was delayed by damage to the truck.

The National Weather Service says afternoon snowfall is expected to affect Thursday commutes along the Glenn Highway from Anchorage to the Mat-Su Valley, a day after poor driving conditions produced numerous wrecks on the highway near Anchorage. According to a special weather statement released by the NWS at about 3 p.m. Thursday, winter conditions are expected to continue along the Glenn into early Thursday evening. “The combination of falling and blowing snow will continue to produce reduced visibilities and difficult driving conditions along the Glenn Highway from Anchorage to the Matanuska Valley during the evening commute,” meteorologists wrote.

Friday's shut down of the Glenn Highway has some state officials worried about the economic havoc it caused on the region. State troopers closed the roadway between Eklutna and Anchorage for 8 hours after shooting a car chase suspect. Drivers were backed up for miles, many of them missing planes or arriving at work late because there's no othe route around the road block. "I was trying to get out to the Mat-Su, oh I think it was last fall," said Shannon McCarthy.  "I left an hour-and-a-half before my meeting began, and there were two or three crashes and they were minor, we had to turn around at the base, because we had already been in traffic for an hour.

A Wednesday morning crash has closed the inbound lanes of the Glenn Highway near Muldoon Road, according to the Anchorage Police Department. Lt. Dave Parker, APD Public Information Officer, said that the collision happened after 10 a.m. and it involved at least 2 vehicles. Police are on scene responding on the crash and no initial word on the condition of the drivers. If you have pictures or video, then email news_desk@ktuu.com . This is a developing story. Please check KTUU.com and the Channel 2 newscasts for updates.

A Mat-Su Borough ambulance was rear-ended on the Glenn Highway on Wednesday evening, according to Alaska State Troopers. The collision happened around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday near the Knik River Access. Troopers said 65-year-old Johnnie Loew, of Palmer, was driving a red 1998 Oldsmobile Alero when he struck the driver side bumper of the ambulance and eventually stopped in a ditch. 30-year-old Beth Baynum, of Palmer, was the ambulance driver who stopped on the roadway to assist another vehicle that went into the ditch, troopers said.

A single-vehicle rollover on the Glenn Highway at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday temporarily closed southbound lanes near its intersection with the Parks Highway. One southbound lane of the Glenn is now open. According to Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters, one person was transported to the hospital after the accident. Peters said troopers on the scene were on total stations, which indicates a presumption that an accident involves serious injury or death. Mat-Su Borough dispatch officials said northbound traffic was moving slowly through the area as emergency crews responded to the scene.

Anchorage police say no injuries were reported after a Jeep rear-ended a pickup truck on the Glenn Highway and did a barrel roll Tuesday afternoon, a crash that occurred during a slowdown caused by another collision near the Eagle River hill. APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker says he was in traffic and personally witnessed the crash, in the outbound lanes near the Glenn Highway weigh station, shortly after 4:30 p.m. An abrupt slowdown of traffic caused by the initial collision near the Eagle River hill caused drivers to slam on their brakes, just as a car swerved in front of a Ford pickup truck in the left lane.

One of the two motorcyclists injured in a Saturday crash on the Glenn Highway died from his wounds. Anchorage police say 52-year-old John Martin Cronin did not survive surgery. The crash happened just before 1 p.m. on the Glenn, near the South Eagle River exit. Anchorage police say Cronin attempted to change lanes to pass a vehicle, but had to steer back to his original lane because that vehicle was also changing lanes. That's when police believe Cronin, who was traveling with a group of motorcycles, lost control and crashed into the median.

A 40-year-old ATV rider suffered serious head injuries in a crash early Saturday morning near Sutton, according to Alaska State Troopers officials. In a dispatch, troopers wrote that they received reports of a man found unresponsive on the Glenn Highway around 2:09 a.m. Saturday. According to the dispatch, Glenn Milowski, of Sutton, was “pinned under a Polaris ATV in the northbound lane,” near Mile 61.5 of the Glenn Hwy and “was not wearing a helmet (at) the time of the accident.” EMS transported him to the Mat-Su Regional Hospital and troopers say his injuries were non-life threatening as of Saturday evening.

Concerned Mat-Su Valley residents are now challenging a monofill facility because they say it's a threat to their quality of life and in the past the same group has fended a proposed prison and coal mine. "It's serious, and it shouldn't be happening,” said Geri McCann, a Palmer resident who lives a less than a mile from the site.  “It's all because it's going to cost them less money.” McCann adds, “it's a financially driven decision, it's very selfish. " Anchorage-based Central Environmental Incorporated has asked the Mat-Su Borough for a permit to operate the facility on Mile 38 along the Glenn Highway.  "We take out the maximum amount of recyclable waste out of anything and then we end up with a residual product,” said CEI President Stuart Jacques.  “It's about 25 percent of the waste stream, it's a residual that can't be recycled and would be disposed of here.

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday (April 14) that the Anchorage Chamber Citywide Cleanup Week has been moved to May 4 to 11. The popular spring cleanup program has been delayed due to colder temperatures than normal and a significant amount of snow still on the ground. "Before making a decision to change the date of Citywide Cleanup Week, we consulted the Anchorage National Weather Center for historical data," said Anchorage Chamber president Andrew Halcro.

Anchorage police have named a 62-year-old man who died in a single-vehicle crash on the Glenn Highway near Eagle River Wednesday afternoon, saying his car appeared to be under control before it drifted off the road and rolled over. In a Thursday statement, APD spokesperson Dani Myren says witnesses saw Campbell Kirk McKellar, the sole occupant of a light blue 1989 Volvo sedan in the Glenn's center lane, driving inbound just south of a weigh station near the Hiland Road exit. "The vehicle was observed changing into the right-hand lane before swerving onto the shoulder and continuing to drift off the road," Myren wrote.

Anchorage police are responding to a fatal Glenn Highway crash near Eagle River, in which one man was apparently entrapped and died Wednesday afternoon. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says police were informed of the wreck, which appeared to involve a single-occupant vehicle inbound on the Glenn south of a weigh station near the Hiland Road exit, at about 3:50 p.m. The man was found in the vehicle, which apparently left the highway and ended up on its side after striking a fence, but Myren says no other injuries have been reported.

STORY UPDATED AT 9:37 p.m. 3/25/13: No serious injuries were reported in Glenn Highway crash, according to the Anchorage Police Department. APD Officer Sean Keating on the scene said a total of 13 cars were involved in the crash. "It sounds like one of the vehicles in the middle lane lost control. Just probably going too fast for the conditions," said Keating. "Hit one and just stated the whole domino affect, everybody started slamming on their brakes hitting each other.

The State of Alaska unveiled a broad-based $165 million plan Thursday to better protect drivers in safety corridors on the Seward Highway and three other heavily traveled Alaska roads, featuring a mix of improvements to roads, technology and law enforcement. Gov. Sean Parnell announced the Intelligent Transportation System initiative at the Alaska State Troopers post in Girdwood -- a focal point for troopers' responses to fatal crashes on the Seward, which claimed six lives in 2012.

The National Weather Service says afternoon snowfall is expected to affect Thursday commutes along the Glenn Highway from Anchorage to the Mat-Su Valley, a day after poor driving conditions produced numerous wrecks on the highway near Anchorage. According to a special weather statement released by the NWS at about 3 p.m. Thursday, winter conditions are expected to continue along the Glenn into early Thursday evening. “The combination of falling and blowing snow will continue to produce reduced visibilities and difficult driving conditions along the Glenn Highway from Anchorage to the Matanuska Valley during the evening commute,” meteorologists wrote.

The Arctic Valley Ski Area has officially opened for the winter season in early February. After waiting for enough snow, the ski lifts were back in action this weekend. It opened up for the season on Saturday. The ski club says they were very busy with hundreds of visitors, but in light of Super Bowl Sunday, it only had a handful of guests hit the slopes at the ski area. Weather kept the club from starting the season earlier in the winter. “It was a challenge to get open but now we're here and we're happy to be here,” Lee Fisher, Arctic Valley Ski Club Board Member, said.

UPDATE (8:50 a.m.): The Glenn Highway is now clear and open, according to APD officials. The Glenn Highway has been closed in both directions for almost two hours after a three-vehicle accident occurred in the inbound lane, according to Anchorage police officials. Shortly before 7 a.m., APD responded to the rear-ending accident on North Birchwood involving a Honda CR-V, a Nissan Centra, and a Subaru. Officials did not clarify which vehicle rear-ended the other, but confirmed that zero injuries or fatalities were reported.