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Knik-Goose Bay Road: Vine Road to Settlers Bay Drive

 

What's New!

Phase 1 – Fairview Loop to Centaur Avenue is now under construction.

Construction updates can be found at Alaska 511, the Alaska Project Exchange Mapper (APEX), or call the project hotline at (907) 373-0061.

Construction Phasing Plan

The segment from Centaur Avenue to Fairview Loop (Phase 1) is currently under construction. Construction on the Fairview Loop to Settlers Bay Drive segment (Phase 2) is anticipated to start in 2027. This phasing plan will provide the greatest benefit to the most users, improve the highest volume segment first, and expedite project delivery.

Project Status

The project design is approximately 85% complete. The project team updated traffic projections using recent traffic data and is currently making slight adjustments to intersection layouts based on the results. The team is continuing to coordinate with the adjacent KGB Road: Centaur Avenue to Vine Road project to develop an efficient design for the overall KGB corridor. The next steps include finalizing hydrology design, refining the engineering plans, working with utility companies to develop utility relocation agreements, continuing to gather public input, and begin appraising and acquiring additional right-of-way needed for the project.

Project Overview

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ (DOT&PF) Knik-Goose Bay (KGB) Road: Vine Road to Settlers Bay Drive project proposes to reconstruct KGB Road from Commadore Lane to Settlers Bay Drive. The objective of this project is to reconstruct the existing two-lane road as a four-lane divided roadway that includes pedestrian facilities, turn pockets, access control, traffic signals, drainage, and other related improvements.

Project Goals

The two primary goals of this project are to increase capacity and improve safety. The corridor currently experiences congestion, poor performance, and high collision rates, particularly during peak hours, due to limited capacity and a high density of driveway access. Congestion issues are only expected to increase, spurred by development along KGB Road, future land development in the Point MacKenzie area, and anticipated population growth in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

This project will address capacity issues by:

  • Adding travel lanes;
  • Limiting access to maximize the through capacity and minimize conflicts in the corridor; and
  • Improving intersection control, such as auxiliary lanes, signal location, and signal progression.

Safety issues will be addressed in this project by considering:

  • Medians and widened shoulders;
  • Additional and redesigned pedestrian facilities; and
  • Access control by reducing the number of driveways and approaches that access KGB.

Typical Section

Click image below for larger view of the Typical Section

Project Purpose and Need

Purpose

  • Improve safety
  • Reduce congestion
  • Enhance access management
  • Increase travel efficiency

Need

  • Reduce high severity crash rates along the corridor, particularly head-on collisions, and reduce overall crash rates along the corridor for vehicles and roadway users.
  • Reduce congestion for users and reduce delay at signalized and unsignalized intersections.
  • Decrease travel time for users along the corridor. Safely and efficiently accommodate mobility for longer trips and accessibility to adjacent land and local streets.

Project Area Background

This section of roadway has a mix of industrial, commercial, and residential uses and is identified by DOT&PF as a principal arterial. Prinicipal arterials are intended to carry high volumes of traffic with limited disruptions that can be caused by frequent access points. They reduce travel time and increase mobility for longer trips while providing increased safety. In 2009, this roadway was designated by DOT&PF as a Traffic Safety Corridor due to a fatal and major injury accident rate that was 3.8 times the national average. There are undeveloped sections of land along this roadway segment, and future land development is anticipated to increase use of the road corridor.

Potential right-of-way (ROW) acquisitions, utility conflicts, and ongoing drainage issues have been identified. The project team will develop a NEPA-compliant environmental document, a Design Study Report (DSR), and bid-ready documents (known as Plans, Specifications, and Estimates [PS&E]). See the Schedule and Public Involvement pages for details on the timeline of this project.