Parts of the Chester Creek Trail will be closed for most of the summer starting on Tuesday while it’s being repaved and improved.
The Municipality’s parks department is closing the trail in two segments. The first – from the New Seward Highway to Nichols Road near Goose Lake – will close from May 26 until then end of July. The stretch from Arctic Boulevard to the highway will close from July 22 to early October.
Park Planner Maeve Nevins says the $2.3 million upgrade to the 20-year-old trail includes new techniques that will prevent things like flooding in the wetlands areas.
“We had to take some different technical measures from what we did in the past where we’re actually doing a full dig out and rebuilding the trail on something called ‘ballast stone,'” she explains. “And that’s a thick stone. It’s the stone that they use in railroad beds. It has a load bearing capacity. So by using that stone first, we lay that down and then we put our leveling course and then we put the asphalt, that allows the water to flow through the trail in that corridor.”
They’re also insulating the culverts with blue foam board to prevent perilous bumps from frost heaving.
Nevins says trail detours will be well marked and include sidewalks and smaller trails. Volunteers will guide users along the detour routes on Tuesday and Wednesday during commute times. Small sections of the trail will re-open as they are completed and will be marked.
You can find out more here.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her atahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annehere.
