Weekend road closure serious business

Posted on: April 6, 2009 | admin | Comments Off | Print Article | Rate Post:

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By Nancy Erickson

It was no April Fools joke when Alaska Department of Transportation officials met with frustrated business owners at city hall last Wednesday to discuss a 55-hour total closure of the Seward Highway just as tourist season kicks in.
“You delivered the date before we were engaged in conversation,” Ron Long directed at DOT design engineer John Linnell.
Long, who is Seward’s representative on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and general manager of Renown Tours, was referring to an unexpected DOT notice sent to the Seward Chamber of Commerce March 26 mandating a weekend highway closure in the Crown Point area from 10 p.m., April 24 until 5 a.m., April 27 for emergency bridge repairs.
In addition to the usual consequences of no road access, those attending the public meeting vented their concerns that Seward will take an economic hit below the belt.
Visitors and tourists booked hotel and tour boat reservations months ago, lured to this sea-side town by advertisements promoting the annual California Gray Whale migration. Instead of a welcome banner, visitors to Seward will be met by a Road Closed sign.

Emergency response dictates drastic measures
“We take closing down a road very seriously,” DOT’s Linnell told those gathered in the city council
chambers. Because structural defects in the three bridges at Trail River, Falls and Ptarmigan creeks triggered an emergency response, we didn’t go with regular procedures, he explained of the short notice.
General contractor Granite Construction will begin work installing temporary bridges over Falls and Ptarmigan creeks Monday, April 6. Motorists can expect up to 15 minute delays Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in addition to the weekend closure.
The severity of the bridge conditions came to light last fall, Linnell said.
The engineer said state bridge inspectors indicated the need to look into either replacing or repairing the three bridges located between Seward and Moose Pass as early as 1995. The bridges are part of the Mile 18-25 Seward Highway improvement project that has been on the books for years but never funded.
Following a detailed analysis of the bridges last fall, inspectors concluded “we need to address these bridges now,” Linnell said.
A stop light was installed on Trail River bridge this winter and will remain in place until a temporary bridge can be installed, hopefully by the end of summer, Linnell said.
The Ptarmigan temporary bridge will be installed to the east of the existing structure. But because the Falls Creek bridge is pinched between railroad tracks on the east and a Seward utility substation on the west, the temporary bridge will be installed over the existing bridge.
That predicament is what has caused the total weekend closure, Linnell said.
The temporary bridges will be the same width as the existing bridges, but somewhat higher railings may deter some over-width traffic, he added. The speed limit will be 35 miles per hour.
Funding for the temporary bridges comes from state emergency response funds, but when the bridges will see permanent fixes depends on the availability of federal money and permitting.
“We would like to start replacing temporary bridges with permanent by next summer, Linnell said.
Nancy Erickson is a free lance writer living in Seward.