Richardson Highway ramp to Mitchell Expressway closes Sunday morning in Fairbanks

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will close all lanes of the ramp from the Richardson Highway to the Robert Mitchell Expressway in Fairbanks on Sunday, Nov. 1. The closure runs from 10 am to 1 pm, according to an Alaska 511 notice.

Drivers who use the ramp will need another way onto the expressway during those three hours. The notice lists the work as a planned full closure, not an incident. It gives no reason for the closure, and its detour field is empty. The notice was last updated Friday afternoon.

The ramp feeds a busy corridor. The Mitchell Expressway, between University Avenue and the Richardson Highway, carried roughly 17,600 to 21,800 vehicles a day, according to a 2018 FAST Planning transportation plan appendix. FAST Planning is the transportation planning organization for the Fairbanks area. The appendix forecast that traffic on the corridor would grow to 19,000 to 27,000 vehicles a day by 2045. It also said industrial land uses near the corridor add to its truck traffic.

This is not the first closure of the ramp this year. DOT&PF closed the same off-ramp on a Saturday in June for routine maintenance, as Alaska News reported June 26.

Drivers can check current road conditions and any changes to the closure by calling 511 or visiting 511.alaska.gov.