W Petersville Rd impassable after washout at Kenny Creek

West Petersville Road is impassable at mile marker 17.5, where a washout at Kenny Creek left the route blocked in both directions with no reopening timeline from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

DOT&PF said repairs will begin as soon as water levels and velocity drop to safe working conditions. The agency gave no estimate of when that threshold might be reached.

The washout follows days of heavy rain across the Susitna Valley. The National Weather Service issued Flood Watches for Hatcher Pass and the Susitna Valley beginning July 20, warning that two storm systems would bring up to 3.5 inches of combined rainfall to the region. The watch covered Petersville and nearby communities including Skwentna, Willow, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, and Chulitna, and expired Thursday afternoon, July 23. The NWS noted that local waterways were already elevated from earlier rain before those systems arrived, and that rivers and streams along and east of the Parks Highway were at heightened flood risk.

Alaska 511 is tracking the closure as event 36938. Travelers should monitor Alaska 511 for updates on road conditions.