Kenai Spur Highway reopens following wreck

By Staff Reports

Peninsula Clarion

8 p.m.:

The Kenai Spur Highway reopened around 7:40 p.m. Wednesday following a two-vehicle collision, said Central Emergency Services Captain Lesley Quelland.

Central Emergency Services responded to the head-on collision between a class A motor home and a pick-up truck around 2 p.m., Quelland said. Two adults from the motor home were transported to Central Peninsula Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, and Quelland said two adults who were in the truck were later pronounced dead. Their identities have not yet been released.

“We assessed the accident scene obviously to find out how many patients we had,” Quelland said of CES’s arrival at the wreck. “We initiated extrication from the pick-up truck and also assessed the two adult patients who were in the motor home.”

Besides the accident being a head-on collision, Quelland said CES has no further information about the cause of the accident.

“We certainly appreciate the patience of everyone in the community,” she said.

4:15 p.m.:

Two people have been confirmed dead after a two-vehicle accident on the Kenai Spur Highway.

Two fatalities have been confirmed in the wreck that occurred near milepost 2 of the Spur Highway, said Alaska State Troopers Public Information Officer Megan Peters in an email.

The accident involved a motor home that was towing a vehicle behind it and a pick-up truck.

Troopers and Kenai Police officers are still directing traffic at the intersections of the Kenai Spur Highway and Beaver Loop Road, as well as the intersection of Beaver Loop Road and Bridge Access Road.

Original Story:

An accident has blocked traffic on the Kenai Spur Highway, officials say.

Alaska 511 has posted an alert warning that the highway from milepost 2 to 3 is “impassable.”

Kenai Police Chief Gus Sandahl said officers from his department are on scene to redirect traffic. Alaska State Troopers and Central Emergency Services personnel have also responded.

Motorists trying to travel through Soldotna to Kenai are being directed to a detour via Beaver Loop Road, Sandahl said. Motorists will not be able to get from Kenai to Soldotna along the Kenai Spur Highway, he said.

“If they (motorists) need to get to a residence or business they can go as far as Peninsula Power Sports,” Sandahl said. “When the Spur gets blocked from a crash between Beaver Loop and Soldotna, it’s common for us to end up detouring them back to K-Beach to get to Soldotna.”

Sandahl said another Kenai officer is posted at Bridge Access Road to handle potential congestion there.

Sandahl said he is unable to release any more details about the accident itself at this time, as did a CES dispatcher.

AST Public Information Officer Megan Peters said in an email that troopers are responding but that she has no further details at this time.

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion A wreck on the Kenai Spur Highway has traffic along Beaver Loop Road backed up on Wednesday August 5, 2015 in Kenai, Alaska.

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion A wreck on the Kenai Spur Highway has traffic along Beaver Loop Road backed up on Wednesday August 5, 2015 in Kenai, Alaska.

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Two people are dead and the Kenai Spur Highway is closed after a wreck between an RV and a truck on Wednesday August 5, 2015 in Kenai, Alaska. Authorities are asking that people who need to travel between Kenai and Soldotna take Kalifornsky Beach Road.