What you need to know:
- Limited work on the Knik River Bridge is slated to start Monday, April 7 with a full closure of the northbound span beginning April 23 and expected to last at least 30 days.
- All lanes of travel will be diverted onto the southbound bridge during the closure. The southbound span will close after the northbound side is complete to undergo similar upgrades.
- Drivers should expect significant backups and delays. Officials plan to reopen both bridge spans by mid-summer. About 31,400 vehicles cross both spans of the bridge each day.
PALMER – Work on the Knik River Bridge will begin Monday as construction crews prepare for a full closure of the northbound span starting April 23, state transportation officials said this week.
Crews will spend about two weeks preparing for the closure, with tasks including removing rumble strips and reformatting road striping on both sides of the highway, said Jason Lamoreaux, a state transportation construction manager overseeing the project. That work will take place during nonpeak travel hours and may include some lane closures, he said.
Officials plan to close the northbound span of the bridge between Mile 30 and 31 on the Glenn Highway for at least 30 days starting April 23, with all traffic diverted to three lanes on the southbound span, officials said.
Opposing traffic on the southbound span will be separated by a 2-foot-wide row of concrete barriers. The barriers will be shifted twice a day to provide two lanes in the direction of heaviest traffic.
When work on the northbound span is complete, the southbound side will undergo a similar closure, with all traffic diverted to the newly reopened side, officials said.
Drivers should expect significant backups and delays, especially during peak commuting hours, transportation officials warned last month.
When completed, both bridge spans will have a new surface and new joints connecting them to the roadway, officials said. New approach slabs between the bridge spans and Glenn Highway will also provide a smoother path of travel, they said.
Officials plan to reopen both bridge spans by mid-summer, although construction is not expected to be fully completed until just before the Alaska State Fair in August, they said.
About 31,400 vehicles cross both spans of the bridge each day, according to state traffic data.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com
This story has been republished with permission from the original at the Mat-Su Sentinel.
