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Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

CENTRAL REGION
DOT&PF > Central Region > Projects > 36th Avenue Interchange Project

What's New!

  • Cultural and Historical Resources Assessment: This assessment is currently underway to ensure compliance with historic preservation requirements and to be mindful of cultural and historical significance. The final assessment will be included in the approved environmental document.
  • Environmental Documentation and Preliminary Design: These activities are in progress, with no major milestones expected in the coming months. The environmental document is tentatively planned to be finalized in 2026. After which, and pending available funding, Final Design can begin.
  • Construction Schedule and Funding: Final Design, Right-of-Way Appraisal & Acquisition, Construction, and Utility Relocation funds are included in the Draft AMATS 2023-2026 TIP Amendment No. 3, with construction tentatively scheduled to begin in 2030.

Project Overview

The Seward Highway: 36th Avenue Interchange project will improve safety and reduce delays by constructing a new interchange at the intersection of Seward Highway and 36th Avenue. The intersection of the Seward Highway and 36th Avenue is one of the busiest intersections with the most crashes in the Anchorage bowl. Bicyclists and pedestrians report that it is difficult to cross the highway and users report a general lack of east-west connectivity in the area. Planned improvements include grade separations, highway ramps, non-motorized facilities, and new frontage roads connecting Tudor Road to 36th Avenue.

This project will:

  • Improve flow for all travel modes
  • Support the separation of local trips from through trips
  • Improve facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists
  • Increase safety, and
  • Reduce delays.

The project area measures approximately one mile along the Seward Highway. It also extends along 36th Avenue between approximately LaTouche Street to the east and Denali Street to the west.

Background

The Seward Highway: 36th Avenue Interchange Project is the first project to move forward from the Midtown Congestion Relief (MCR) Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study. The MCR PEL Study focused on the area surrounding the Seward Highway corridor from the Tudor Road interchange to approximately the 20th Avenue intersection through Midtown Anchorage. It sought to comprehensively develop and evaluate corridor concepts that would address safety and congestion issues where the Seward Highway transitions from a controlled access freeway south of Tudor Road to a slower speed major arterial road at 36th Avenue. The PEL Study process concluded in April 2020, and further information on the PEL Study process and report can be found here.