The growing Mat-Su Valley is in need of traffic relief, but Wasilla residents are still taking a hard look at a Parks Highway project the state Department of Transportation says will alleviate concerns in the area.
DOT's proposed solution involves rerouting the Parks to bypass downtown Wasilla, likely starting on the Seward Meridian-Parks Highway interchange and looping around the city.
"To the south of the community, then west and that point will be completed in the next few months as we complete our analysis," said DOT's Allen Kemplen.
Objections are wide-ranging. Some believe the traffic congestion is caused by commuters driving back and forth from Anchorage, and a beltway around Wasilla won't solve that problem.
"It appears to me that through traffic dramatically changes in the summer, that we have a lot of tourists, who are heading up the Parks Highway to Denali and Fairbanks," said Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny.
There is another proposal on the table. Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright supports DOT's plan, but he's concerned because it will take years to build the road. He says immediate, short-term relief is needed, which is why he's proposing a loop on the north side of town connecting existing roadways.
"People can come off the Parks Highway, come off the Trunk (Road) extension, to Bogard Road, to Seldon Road -- it takes them all the way west to Church Road," Rupright said. "The only thing left is about a mile and a quarter, through the woods as it were."
The mayor says it would cost about $6 million in Mat-Su Borough funds to connect those roads.
Kilkenny says state and local leaders kicked the can down the road for way too long and the traffic problem has gotten worse,
"Just because it's harder today, doesn't mean it shouldn't be done," Kilkenny said. "It means we need to get serious."
A steering committee is expected to analyze the feedback and data from Wednesday's presentation, but it could be a year before work on this project begins.
Contact Adam Pinsker