State proposes a roundabout at Nordale and Peede roads in North Pole

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is taking comments on its plan to replace the stop signs at Nordale and Peede roads in North Pole with a single-lane roundabout, according to a notice issued Thursday.

Only one road stops at the intersection now, and it "has accumulated a history of vehicle crashes," according to the department's project page.

A department policy requires designers to consider a roundabout before other fixes, such as a traffic signal. Roundabouts cut down the places where vehicles can collide, and crashes in them tend to be less severe, the department says.

North Pole already has three, near the Richardson Highway interchange at Santa Claus Lane. Those intersections had 12 injury crashes in the 10 years before the roundabouts went in and none in the first seven years after, the department reports.

The Nordale-Peede project would cost about $4.85 million through the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program, according to a state funding document that moved construction beyond 2027. The department expects work to start in 2028, depending on funding.

The plan also includes disability-access improvements, drainage work, new signs and clearing brush where needed.

It's one of several roundabouts the department is considering in the area. A separate project proposes up to seven along Badger Road, including where Badger meets Peede and Nordale roads.

The department will show the design at an open house Nov. 18 at the North Star Volunteer Fire Department station on Bradway Road. Comments are due Nov. 30.