Anchorage historic commission says state left it out of Seward Highway historic review

The Anchorage Historic Preservation Commission says the state let Alaska's historic preservation officer sign off on the Safer Seward Highway's federal historic review without giving the municipality the same chance to agree or object. The commission does not accept the resulting finding of no adverse effect. It is asking the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to negotiate a programmatic agreement setting out mitigation.

Commission Chair Connor Scher laid out the complaint in a May 21 letter to the department's Design and Engineering Services Division. The letter thanks the consulting team for visiting the commission on Feb. 16, 2026, and for answering some of its questions. Commissioners held several follow-up deliberations after that visit. But Anchorage staff and commissioners did not know about correspondence between the project agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer, Scher wrote. They also did not know the officer concurred with proposed findings of no effect in fall 2025. "We became aware only after the fact along with the public," the letter said. Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Scher wrote, consulting parties such as the commission are entitled to the same consultation opportunity as the state officer.

The commission is a municipal advisory body that reviews historic preservation projects in Anchorage. The Anchorage Assembly set out that role in the Historic Preservation Plan it adopted in February 2013. Section 106 requires a federal undertaking to consider effects on historic properties within its area of potential effects. DOT&PF, acting as a federal agency under its NEPA assignment authority, began consultation with potential consulting parties in December 2023.

DOT&PF's Position

DOT&PF and the state officer take a different view. The project's Environmental Assessment states that historic properties were identified and avoided. The project team's January online open house said that "The Project is complying with NEPA and Section 106 processes." It said consultation on impacts to historic properties is ongoing and that no significant adverse impacts are currently expected. The department has documented similar findings on nearby work before, including a no-historic-properties-affected finding for the Windy Corner safety improvements in 2015.

Sites the Commission Says Are at Risk

The letter names Beluga Point, Potter Marsh, Windy Corner, Turnagain Arm, the Iditarod National Historic Trail, historic properties in Bird, and the Alaska Railroad as resources the commission believes the project would adversely affect. Beluga Point "may be the most significant known archaeological site in Anchorage," the letter said. Proposed grade-separated pedestrian crossings would bring more foot traffic onto sensitive ground, Scher wrote. Several Alaska Railroad realignments would require demolishing historic bridges, particularly at Bird Creek. The commission said no one has yet approached the Municipality of Anchorage about those structures.