Motorists who frequent the Old Sterling Highway as an alternative to the main highway on the southern Kenai Peninsula will see some improvements down the road.

The Old Sterling Highway in Anchor Point will undergo a pavement preservation project from its beginning near the Anchor River crossing to mile 8.7. It will include milling and paving, upgraded or repaired signage and lighting and improvements to the road subgrade, according to an online public notice posted by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

The project is in the very preliminary stage of environmental documentation, said Project Manager Edith McKee.

“We’re expecting it to be a categorical exclusion,” she said.

Surveyors will be out working in the area in fall 2017, with the contract being awarded in 2018 and actual work slated to begin in 2019, McKee said.

“It’s a resurfacing project, so ideally it would be completed in one season,” McKee said, noting that there can always be unknown variables that can extend a project’s timeline.

Members of the public have until May 31 to submit comments on the project, which McKee said Department of Transportation staff always encourage but might not always be able to address.

“It would be anything that is of their personal concern,” she said.

McKee said people who have called in about the project so far have said they are excited about the upcoming resurfacing work, as the Old Sterling Highway is one of the few alternative routes in the area.

Comments on the project can be emailed to edith.mckee@alaska.gov.

Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.