Seward Highway MP 75-90

Project Description

The 127-mile long Seward Highway between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula is a vital transportation corridor for Southcentral Alaska. It is also a stunningly beautiful roadway that winds its way between the Chugach Mountains and Turnagain Arm. The Seward Highway has been recognized as an All-American Road and a National Scenic Byway by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), as an Alaska State Scenic Byway by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF), and as a National Forest Byway by the U.S. Forest Service.

The proposed project starts at MP 75 (the bottom of Turnagain pass), skirts the southern end of Turnagain Arm, and ends near the intersection with the Girdwood/Alyeska Highway at MP 90, approximately 37 miles south of the Anchorage Bowl. The corridor includes the Portage Glacier Road intersection, the Twentymile River boat launching area, and the Alaska Railroad Portage Station. There is heavy truck, bus, recreational vehicle, and trailer traffic on the Highway, which is the only road connection between the Kenai Peninsula and the rest of the State. The Seward Highway also provides the only road connection to Girdwood and Whittier, where existing at-grade intersections can challenge drivers going to and from those communities.

The MP 75-90 Project aims to increase safe movement of traffic and increase the service life of the roadway. DOT&PF, in cooperation with FHWA, seeks to make improvements throughout this 15-mile segment of the Seward Highway.