Find out how the four-lane design supports safer, more reliable travel on the Seward Highway
“Hello, Seward Highway travelers!
The engineers looked at a few different concepts for the Safer Seward Highway project, including keeping it two lanes and increasing to three lanes. After analyzing each option, they recommend a four-lane divided highway as the preferred option. Considering the real impacts construction will have on the community, including beloved climbing routes, why did they choose that option?
Three big reasons: safety, reliability, traffic
SAFETY: Traffic modeling predicts the four-lane option will reduce crashes by nearly 70% and the three-lane option by just under 40%.
RELIABILITY: A four-lane highway will stay open more often during emergencies.
TRAFFIC: The national standards for road design recommend four lanes on this section of the Seward Highway based on projected peak traffic levels (up to 1,469 vehicles per hour) for the end of this project’s design life, 25 years. The guidance advises against a three-lane layout once traffic exceeds about 1,200 vehicles per hour in one direction.
Want to dig into the details? Here are a few links to check out:
The Highway Configuration Development & Selection Memo discusses why the four-lane configuration was selected over other options: https://safersewardhighway.com/…/Appendix-E.-Highway…
The Traffic & Safety Analysis discusses projected safety improvements under various configurations: https://safersewardhighway.com/…/Appendix-G.-Traffic…
The Safer Seward Highway Environmental Assessment is open for public comment through February 27! Read the document and learn how to submit an official comment here: https://safersewardhighway.com/draft-ea/
Huge thanks to Logan Maddox for the photo!”
Category: Bulletin Board
