A $1.5 billion Seward Highway rebuild goes to public comment Sept. 22

The state wants to rebuild 20 miles of the Seward Highway as a four-lane divided road, at more than $1.5 billion over about a decade, ending the stretch's designation as a Safety Corridor. Public comment opens Sept. 22.

AMATS staff comments said the project would convert 162.7 acres of Chugach State Park and place up to 105 acres of fill into the marine waters of Turnagain Arm. The AMATS Community Advisory Committee asked in July that the project be pulled from the 2052 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, citing a median up to 250 feet wide and cliff excavations up to 400 vertical feet.

The Rabbit Creek Community Council, part of the project's stakeholder working group since June 2023, opposes the four-lane alternative and favors a three-lane design.

The project runs from Rabbit Creek Road to Girdwood, mileposts 98.5 to 118, and would add a separated multi-use pathway alongside the highway.

The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will hold a public meeting Sept. 22 from 5 to 7 pm at the Loussac Library, with a presentation at 5:30, and repeat it virtually Sept. 23. Comments are accepted through Oct. 22 at safersewardhighway.com.