Anchorage planners suggest removing Academy-Vanguard road project as cost climbs

Anchorage Long-Range Planning Manager Daniel McKenna-Foster told the Planning and Zoning Commission Oct. 19 that the Academy-Vanguard road project should be removed from the city's capital list or checked for whether it still has a clear purpose.

The project would align Academy and Vanguard drives west of Abbott Road. It has been identified as a need since about 2009, he said, partly to prepare for a possible future undercrossing of the Seward Highway. It was first estimated at about $8.7 million and was budgeted at about $21.2 million in 2026, he said, though budgeted money may not all be spent.

His staff memo lists $750,000 in proposed bond funding as a local match for about $13 million in federal funds programmed after 2030. A traffic projection expects 14,000 vehicles there, he said, but city reviews have found such projections often run higher than actual traffic.

"There's no good way to off-ramp projects that maybe no longer are needed," McKenna-Foster said. Alaska News reported Oct. 15 that planners say the capital budget isn't strongly tied to the city's growth plan.

He also looked back at Duben Avenue from Patterson to Muldoon. It was budgeted at $7.5 million in 2016 and finished near $8.2 million, becoming a bigger road with retaining walls, curb and guardrail the city must maintain.

Robert Doehl, director of Community Economic Development, said the memo was prepared without consulting the departments that rank the capital list, leaving out projects' technical information. "We believe the report should be disregarded," he said.

The commission voted that night to recommend the 2027 capital budget. The Assembly is scheduled to vote Nov. 17. Approved projects go to voters as bonds in April 2027.