AASHTO Journal - Alaska DOT&PF Issues $29M for Kenai Spur Highway

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities recently gave the green light for Phase II construction to begin on the Kenai Spur Highway Rehabilitation Project. Work is scheduled to begin in Spring 2026 on the segment between Sports Lake Road and Swires Road, with substantial completion expected by June 2028.

[Above photo by Alaska DOT&PF]

This phase will transform approximately 5.7 miles of the aging two-lane corridor into a safer and more efficient five-lane highway.

The design includes 12-foot through-lanes, a 14-foot continuous two-way left-turn lane, and continuous lighting between Delta Avenue and Dolly Varden Street to fill the current gap and improve night-time visibility. Also included are culvert and guardrail replacements, pathway rerouting, driveway modifications, and targeted moose-collision mitigation measures.

The agency, which said the Kenai Spur Highway serves as a vital link between the towns of Kenai and Soldotna, explained that this project addresses an existing two-lane bottleneck that experiences crash rates above the statewide average and ranks second-highest in Alaska for moose collisions.

“The Kenai Spur Highway is one of the busiest and most important corridors on the Kenai Peninsula, and this project is about making it safer for everyone who travels it,” said Ryan Anderson, Alaska DOT&PF commissioner, in a statement.

“Getting to this point was not easy – we faced serious ‘Buy America’ challenges that had to be resolved before we could move forward,” he added. “Thanks to the persistence of our team and support from our federal partners, we are now ready to deliver a project that will save lives and improve travel for Alaskans.”

The agency noted that this $29 million construction project lies within a portion of the 39-mile Kenai Spur Highway originally constructed in 1956 to connect Soldotna with Kenai and Nikiski. A 10-foot shared-use pathway was added to the west side of the highway in 2004.