The Anchorage Assembly voted 9-0 May 30 to approve three time-sensitive road projects — an amendment to the state agreement for the Mountain Air Drive extension and two construction-contract awards for Quinnahawk Street and Jewel Terrace Street — so work can begin during the 2025 build season.

The vote covered three assembly memoranda: AM 04:52-2025 (an amendment to the proprietary agreement with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for the Mountain Air Drive extension, ADOT&PF project CFHWY00710/AMATS), AM 04:53-2025 (recommendation of award for Quinnahawk Street reconstruction), and AM 04:54-2025 (recommendation of award for Jewel Terrace Street road and drainage improvements). The motions were moved by Assembly Member Brawley and seconded by Assembly Member Rivera and passed unanimously.

Municipal staff said the items were presented at a special meeting because the Alaska construction season is short and approving the contracts now preserves a narrow window to complete major tasks this summer. "We very much appreciate your willingness to convene for a special meeting. The three items on the agenda are time critical construction projects that we're hoping to move forward on, make material progress on this summer during the 2025 build season," Municipal Manager Winn Pearson told the Assembly.

Melinda Kolhaas, director of Project Management and Engineering, said the Mountain Air Drive amendment covers the municipality's local match for the preliminary engineering phase (plans, specifications and estimates). She said the total municipal obligation through the PS&E phase is $220,056.30, and that the municipality's PS&E match for that phase is $70,883.80. "This item — the AMATS match — we had intended to make the May 20 meeting and missed it by just a little bit," Kolhaas said, noting the timing needed to align legislative grant funding and budget certification.

Kolhaas described the Quinnahawk Street reconstruction as one of the longer-duration projects on the 2025 program, with about 110 days from notice to proceed to substantial completion. She said the scope includes roadways, concrete, sidewalks, lighting, and that the project will affect nearby businesses and a German immersion school. For Jewel Terrace, Kolhaas said the site is adjacent to Jewel Lake and has a higher water table, making an earlier start advantageous to install stormwater facilities before the rainy season. She said the construction portion of the Jewel Terrace work is funded by a legislative grant, while some earlier funding for the project came from a prior-year bond appropriation.

Not all members were comfortable with the short notice. "I intend to vote yes on these, but I do feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't at least comment ... I don't like being in this position ... I got this, what, 48 hours ago," Assembly Member Johnson said, adding a concern that many affected residents would not have had meaningful notice under the accelerated schedule. Johnson said he would nevertheless vote yes but urged staff and the Assembly to avoid tight turnarounds when possible to preserve public trust.

After the unanimous approval (9-0), Assembly Member Brawley moved to reconsider and Assembly Member Rivera seconded; that motion failed on procedural votes, with the Assembly recording the reconsideration failure as 0-9.

The three approved actions allow staff to proceed with the PS&E match submittal for Mountain Air Drive and to finalize awards to the recommended contractor, Mass Excavation Inc., for the Quinnahawk and Jewel Terrace construction contracts. Assembly Chair Constant closed the special meeting and noted the Assembly would reconvene in about 15 minutes for a work session.

The meeting record shows the approvals were specifically an amendment to the ADOT&PF agreement requiring local match for preliminary engineering (AM 04:52-2025); and recommendations of award to Mass Excavation Inc. for the Quinnahawk Street reconstruction (AM 04:53-2025) and Jewel Terrace Street road and drainage improvements (AM 04:54-2025).