After years of delays, the second phase of construction on the Kenai Spur Highway rehabilitation project — set to expand the highway into a five-lane highway for a nearly 6-mile stretch of road — will begin construction next year, the State Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced Wednesday.
Per information from the department, the project has been in development since 2013, and entered construction in 2018. Phase 1, which expanded a smaller portion of the road between Eagle Rock Drive and Swires Road, was completed in 2020. In the years since, multiple delays have plagued the project, including difficulty acquiring materials that were consistent with requirements for some federal funding and completion of a utility agreement with Homer Electric Association.
The second phase of construction is set to continue expansion of the highway through Sports Lake Road near Soldotna, and also add continuous road lighting to the full length of the project area.
In a Wednesday press release, the department writes that they’ve awarded a roughly $29 million contract to see construction begin next spring with “substantial completion” projected for June of 2028.
“The Kenai Spur Highway is one of the busiest and most important corridors on the Kenai Peninsula, and this project is about making it safer for everyone who travels it,” says department commissioner Ryan Anderson in the release. “Getting to this point was not easy—we faced serious Buy America challenges that had to be resolved before we could move forward. Thanks to the persistence of our team and support from our federal partners, we are now ready to deliver a project that will save lives and improve travel for Alaskans.”
Improvements to the highway will create a “safer and more efficient five-lane highway,” the release says. A 14-foot center turn lane will stretch the full length of the area and new lighting from Delta Avenue in Soldotna to Dolly Varden Street in Kenai will improve nighttime visibility.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche, who in recent years has repeatedly described the project as a priority, is also quoted in the release as saying, “I speak for the thousands of Kenai Peninsula Borough folks who traverse the Kenai Spur Highway daily that we are grateful to arrive at an awarded contract and completion date.”
“It’s admittedly been a long road, but residents will appreciate the much-needed five-lane design between both cities, continuous lighting, the smoothing of steep grades and a quality new surface,” he says. “The improvements will reduce accidents, address one of the highest moose collision areas in the state, and provide better lighting and turning movements for Kenai Peninsula drivers and visitors.”
For more information about the project, including a map of the project area, visit dot.alaska.gov/creg/kenaispur/.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
