Construction season under way on the Kenai Peninsula

Kenai Peninsula residents and visitors should plan a little more time behind the wheel to account for some road construction projects this year.

Drivers in Soldotna may have already noticed construction blocking off a section of Kobuk Street between Riverside Drive and Marcus Avenue, where crews are completing the second phase of a project to improve the street. The construction is a long-term project, scheduled to take place each year until 2020.

The road should be open by Friday, in time for the annual Progress Days festival, according to a notice on the city of Soldotna’s website.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“There are several utility repairs taking place right now as well as upgrading curb ramps for (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards,” the notice states. “After the repairs are competed the road will be milled and repaved.”

Those headed across the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge may run into a delay on the Sterling Highway as well between mileposts 58 and 79, the stretch roughly between Kenai Keys Road in Sterling and the Cooper Landing end of Skilak Lake Road. The project, coordinated by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, will resurface that stretch of road, widen the shoulders and add more wildlife-friendly infrastructure, including underpasses and some moose fencing.

The initial drafts of the project included long stretches of moose fencing, but because of concerns about other animals being able to cross, it has been reduced to about 2.3 miles on both sides of the highway across a flat area, said Shannon McCarthy, spokesperson for DOT’s Central Region.

“Biologists are a little concerned about other critters moving back and forth, and we felt like the natural drainage did funnel the moose into the moose crossing areas where we’re building underpasses,” she said. “… The 2.3 miles is a flat area where there’s no natural topography to guide them.”

The Sterling Highway project is a fairly major one, planned out over the coming three years, said project engineer Shaun Combs. Starting at the eastern end and working westward, the contractor will be mostly clearing along the roadway for the first year, conducting most of the work at night during the high-traffic season and transitioning to working during the days in the fall, he said.

“Sometime after Labor Day, we’ll switch onto days, when traffic lightens up quite a bit,” he said. “It kind of gets unsafe at night when you’re trying to work in the dark.”

There are a number of popular recreation spots along that section of road that will be impacted by the construction, including the Skyline Trailhead, where the project includes a plan to install a pedestrian walkway under the expanded highway. Currently, hikers have to park on the south side of the highway and cross the road, which has vey narrow shoulders, to reach the trailhead. Though the construction will likely impact the trailhead, it will remain open to use and parking, as will all the others in the area, during construction, Combs said.

“Any of the facilities out there for people wanting to go for hikes out there will be open,” he said.

Planned construction on Kalifornsky Beach Road, initially proposed for this summer, has gone out to bid and will likely be awarded later this summer, McCarthy said. If the bid is confirmed, there could be prep work late this summer, but it’s uncertain as yet, she said.

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

An Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection vehicle stands among trees in Funny River, Alaska, on Oct. 2, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Early fire season begins with 2 small blazes reported and controlled

As of March 17, burn permits are required for all state, private and municipal lands.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Strigle named new Kenai district attorney

Former District Attorney Scot Leaders is leaving for a new position in Kotzebue.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche presents the findings of the Southcentral Mayors’ Energy Coalition during a luncheon hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Micciche reports back on Southcentral Mayors’ Energy Coalition

The group calls importation of natural gas a necessity in the short-term.

Christine Cunningham, left, and Mary Bondurant, right, both members of the Kenai Bronze Bear Sculpture Working Group, stand for a photo with Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel and a small model of the proposed sculpture during a luncheon hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Model of bronze bears debuted as airport display project seeks continued funding

The sculpture, intended for the airport exterior, will feature a mother bear and two cubs.

The Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninula Clarion)
State board approves Tułen Charter School

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe will be able to open their charter school this fall.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Homer Middle School teacher arrested on charges of sexual assault and burglary

Charles Kent Rininger, 38, was arrested March 12 by Alaska State Troopers.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski raises her right hand to demonstrate the oath she took while answering a question about her responsibility to defend the U.S. Constitution during her annual address to the Alaska Legislature on March 18, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Murkowski embraces many of Trump’s goals, but questions his methods

Senator addresses flood concerns, federal firings, Medicaid worries in annual speech to Legislature.

A researcher points out fragments of elodea found in the upper stretches of Crescent Creek caught on tree branches and down logs. (Emily Heale/Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association)
Homer conservation district feels impacts of federal funding freeze

Programs related to invasive species, habitat and trails, native plants and agriculture have all been negatively impacted.

Cemre Akgul of Turkey, center left, and Flokarta Hoxha of Kosovo, center right, stand for a photo with members of their host family, Casady and Patrick Herding, at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Photo provided by Patrick Herding)
International students get the Alaska experience

Students to share their experiences visiting the Kenai Peninsula at a fundraiser dinner on Sunday.

Most Read