Federal grants put $142 million into Sterling Highway rebuilds on the Kenai Peninsula

The Federal Highway Administration has awarded more than $142 million in formula grants for four Sterling Highway projects on the Kenai Peninsula, according to USAspending.gov records, which lag awards by two to six weeks. The money goes to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, with grant periods running as late as March 2032.

The largest award, $84.2 million, funds stages 3 and 4 of the Sunrise Inn to Skilak Lake Road project, part of the Cooper Landing bypass. The record labels it mileposts 8 to 25 and cites a parent project at mileposts 44.5 to 58. A project analysis forecasts 604 crashes in the mileposts 45 to 60 area between 2024 and 2043, including eight fatal and 33 major-injury crashes, with $87.25 million in projected crash costs. The area exceeded the statewide share of major-injury and fatal crashes in most years from 2000 through 2009. The grant period ends Oct. 31, 2027, using the construction manager/general contractor method under federal MAP-21 law. The Juneau Creek Bridge had been scheduled for construction in summer 2025. Its status is unconfirmed.

Two more grants totaling $28.1 million fund Stage 1B, the eastern stage of the same project, covering reconstruction, drainage, intersection and ADA work, and utility relocations through Jan. 15, 2031. A geotechnical report cites 46 earthquakes above magnitude 6 within about 125 miles of Cooper Landing since 1899, and a 4 to 6 foot drop from the 1964 earthquake. The project is 90% federally funded with a 10% state match.

Other grants include $13.8 million for the Sterling Safety Corridor, mileposts 82.5 to 94, which widens the highway to a divided four lane road with bike and pedestrian paths, and $16.1 million to resurface mileposts 43 to 56 through April 15, 2030.

State Sen. Jesse Bjorkman raised concerns about the safety corridor during a Sept. 24 Senate Transportation Committee hearing, citing driveway and left-turn access impacts. Deputy Commissioner Katherine Keith addressed the Cooper Landing bypass at the same hearing. "There's a total of $235 million of new work programmed over this 4 years with another major stage beginning in FY '27," she said.