Bids from companies to design a traffic light and other improvements intended to improve safety at the Fred Meyer intersection starting in October are now being accepted by the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
The request for proposals for design improvements at the intersection of Egan and Yandukin comes three years after state transportation officials recommended a more extensive set of upgrades for what has been considered one of Juneau’s most dangerous traffic areas.
In addition to a traffic signal and pedestrian crossing, the recommendations include extending the road behind Fred Meyer to provide an alternative access route a short distance northward to what’s known as the McNugget Intersection.
Instead, a “partial” traffic signal for vehicles on Egan Drive and a pedestrian crossing across the main thoroughfare are included in the current Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) adopted earlier this year. The STIP, covering a period of four fiscal years from 2024 to 2027, calls for spending a total of about $8.5 million for improvements scheduled for completion by the end of that period.
“That’s an intermediate project,” state Rep. Andi Story, a Juneau Democrat, said Monday. “There’s all these steps. The big step will be the new stoplight and crossing behind Fred Meyer.”
A map shows plans for a “partial” traffic signal and a pedestrian crossing on Egan Drive at the Fred Meyer intersection. (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
The request for proposals comes as Story and 11 other lawmakers signed a letter Aug. 5 to DOT Commissioner Ryan Anderson expressing concerns about amendments to the STIP being sought by the Dunleavy administration the lawmakers fear “could take funds from dozens of projects around the state.”
The concerns, first reported by Dermot Cole in his news blog Reporting From Alaska, have to do with what he called “mix-and-match funding arrangements sprinkled through the 1,426-page amendment have left everyone confused about what is funded, what will be funded in the years ahead and what commitments the state is making.”
The state’s initial STIP was rejected by the federal government in February — making Alaska the only state without an approved plan — with a revised plan getting approval at the end of March. Among the other Juneau-related projects in the STIP are a second Juneau-Douglas crossing at an estimated cost of $400 million scheduled for completion by 2030 and a $76.6 million ferry terminal at Cascade Point whose purpose is being questioned by some Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board members.
Story said she signed the letter because of concerns in particular about the Fred Meyer intersection among other local projects.
The request for design proposals at the intersection specifies a cost range of $500,000 to $1 million, with work starting Oct 1 and a completion date of Dec. 31, 2026. The bid deadline is Aug. 28.
Most of the STIP funding for the project is scheduled to be allocated in 2026, allowing for construction to occur.
Some short-term safety upgrades have already been made at the intersection. Those include altering the turn lanes on Egan Drive earlier this year to improve drivers’ line-of-sight and reduce the distance needed to cross the road to clear oncoming traffic.
Seasonal speed limits have also been approved which will lower the maximum legal speed to 45 mph instead of 55 mph starting later this fall, based on historical crash data showing the highest number of accidents occur at the intersection from November to January. Signs alerting drivers to their current speed (with “slow down” messages if they’re exceeding the limit) have also been installed in both directions on Egan Drive.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
