Fairbanks-area plan projects draw $13 million in federal road money; award records give no build dates

About $13 million in federal highway money reached Fairbanks-area transportation plan projects and City of Fairbanks signal upgrades before the federal fiscal year ends Wednesday. Award records do not say when any of it will be built.

The Federal Highway Administration made 12 obligations, or funding commitments, to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities between Aug. 11 and Sept. 24, covering ten projects. Bigger Fairbanks-area awards came too, including $29.3 million for the Richardson Highway Chena bridge replacement.

The largest, about $2.54 million, will widen and resurface the Parks Highway path between Faith Lane and Ester; the state's project page expects construction no earlier than 2027. Others cover Steese Highway-area paths ($1.8 million), Hurst Road in North Pole (about $712,000), three city signals (about $2.13 million), street resurfacing (about $2.63 million), 6th and 7th Avenues pedestrian work (about $1.72 million), UAF natural-gas shuttle buses ($454,850), a North Pole High School access study (about $292,000), North Pole plug-ins (about $139,000) and FAST Planning's work program (about $603,000).

Most path money is federal air-quality funding overseen by FAST Planning, the area's planning agency; neither it nor the state is quoted.