A confrontation between Alaska State Troopers and a “barricaded individual with a firearm” closed the Seward Highway between Nash Road and Exit Glacier Road and blocked access to the city for around an hour on Friday.

According to an advisory message released by the Seward Police Department, the road was closed “for the safety of the public” until the unnamed individual surrendered to troopers without incident.

The department also addressed rumors spread on social media that the closure was connected to an escaped inmate of Spring Creek Correctional Center, saying “rumors about an escaped inmate are false and there is no further danger to the public.”

For more information, visit facebook.com/sewardpolice.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.