DOT, consultants present signal-and-median plan for Parks Highway–Sheep Creek Road Extension after crash review

The Planning Commission on Aug. 12 heard a presentation from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Kinney Engineering on a proposed traffic signal, medians and pedestrian-crossing changes at the Parks Highway and Sheep Creek Road Extension aimed at reducing angle and icy-condition crashes, the agencies said.

The commission was told the project is funded through the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and follows an analysis of 29 crashes in the past 10 years in which two crashes caused major injuries, six caused minor injuries and the remainder were property-damage-only, Yvette Hall, design manager for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said. Hall said the project team revised the design after multiple rounds of public outreach, including an October social-media outreach, a March open house and comments in local media.

DOT and consultant presenters said the project nomination identified contributing factors including blocked sight distance where the intersection sits on the outside of a curve, steep grades and superelevation that allow left-turning vehicles to slide, and difficulty for…