The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will be repaving Egan Drive next summer.

The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will be repaving Egan Drive next summer.

DOT prepares for major repairs to Egan Drive

Early next year, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will launch a $20 million to $30 million renovation of Egan Drive between 10th Street and Mendenhall Loop Road.

The project is the largest of a series of state projects scheduled in Juneau for the next construction season. Also planned is a $10 million reconstruction of Glacier Highway in Auke Bay, a $4.5 million renovation of Glacier Highway from Point Lena to Tee Harbor and a $631,000 project to install adaptive traffic signals in the Mendenhall Valley.

Bidding on the 8-mile Egan Drive project opened Nov. 20 and is expected to close Dec. 15. According to state documents, the epicenter of the project will take place at Salmon Creek, where DOT will widen the Egan Drive bridge and completely rebuild the nearby intersection to accommodate longer turn lanes and on/off ramps.

Elsewhere, DOT’s selected contractor will remove the top half-inch of pavement from Egan Drive and add two new inches of asphalt atop the road, creating a fresh surface for drivers.

The last significant resurfacing of Egan Drive was 15 years ago, and the road is beginning to develop ruts from studded tire use. Once resurfaced, the highway is expected to last for another 15 years.

Nearly 10 miles of new guardrail will be installed along the highway as well.

The project’s schedule calls for work in the Salmon Creek area to start in March or April and continue through the end of August.

Asphalt work is scheduled to begin in June and continue through the end of August. The contractor is being told by DOT to avoid work during rush hour.

More information will be published when the winning bid is announced.

The $10 million Auke Bay project will repave Glacier Highway from Fritz Cove to Seaview Avenue, renovating the pavement on Glacier Highway around the new roundabout.

New lights will illuminate the highway, a new sidewalk will be built on the water side of the highway, and an 8-foot shoulder will accommodate a bike lane.

That project is expected to be open for bids in mid-December.

Farther north, another paving project will remodel 1.8 miles of Glacier Highway, from Campground Creek to Point Stephens Road.

SECON was the lowest bidder on the project, with an estimate of $3.5 million. The engineer’s estimate was $4.5 million.

According to project documents, SECON will increase the highway’s shoulder widths to six feet on either side, allowing pedestrians and bicylists to more safely use that stretch of highway.

Car travel lanes will be narrowed from 12 feet wide to 11 feet wide during that process.

According to project documents, the work is to be finished by Aug. 1.

In the Mendenhall Valley, the state is preparing to pay for the installation of adaptive traffic signals that allow cars to move based not on timing but on traffic demand.

Bids were opened Oct. 28 on that project, and Island Electric had the lowest bid at $935,000. The engineer’s estimate was $631,000.

In November 2016, the state is expected to begin seeking bids for the resurfacing of Egan Drive from 10th Street to Main Street. That $5 million to $10 million effort, anticipated for 2017, will also include a new retaining wall underneath Merchants’ Wharf.

Also that year, the state is expected to renovate the walking and biking path in Lemon Creek along Glacier Highway.

• Contact assistant editor James Brooks at 523.2258 or at james.k.brooks@morris.com.

More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of May 11

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2024 schedule.… Continue reading

Rep. Jeremy Bynum, R-Ketchikan, speaks to Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, during a vote on amendments to the state’s capital budget on Monday, May 12, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Amid budget struggle, Alaska has little money for new construction or renovation

State’s capital budget about to pass Legislature with no projects for individual legislators’ districts.

Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, at center, sits among senators during a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Most Alaskans nominated for state boards and commissions get Legislature’s approval this year

One nominee was rejected on a 0-60 vote, which may be a first for the Alaska Legislature.

A person uses a garden hose in an effort to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Dozens of members of Congress from both parties plead with Trump to unfreeze FEMA grants

Sen. Murkowski part of group drafting letter urging FEMA to begin spending already OK’d by Congress.

The six members of a joint House-Senate conference committee appointed to resolve differences in their versions of next year’s proposed state budget sign documents at their initial meeting Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
PFD of $1,000 or $1,400? Ban on abortion funds or not? Fate of state’s budget now in hands of six legislators

Conference committee seeks to resolve 400 differences in House, Senate budgets as session nears end.

Boxes of sugary cereal, including those from General Mills, fill a store’s shelves on April 16, 2025, in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
US House Republican plan would force states to pay for a portion of SNAP benefits

State costs would increase with higher error rates — Alaska currently has the highest.

Juneau Board of Education members including Will Muldoon (foreground), whose seat is currently open after he resigned April 21, meet at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Sept. 10, 2024. Five candidates for the open seat are scheduled to be interviewed on Saturday at TMMS. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Five people seeking open seat on Juneau school board set for public interviews on Saturday at TMMS

Former board member Steve Whitney, recent runner-up candidate Jenny Thomas among applicants.

Jörg Knorr, a solo travel journalist from Flensburg, Germany, smiles after taking a photo on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
German kayaker sets off to circumnavigate Admiralty Island

He made friends along the way in his mission to see Alaska.

A cruise ship docks in downtown Juneau on April 30, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
As foreign tourists stay away, US could lose $12.5 billion this year, tourism group says

Border detentions, confusion over visas deterring visitors, according to World Travel & Tourism Council.

Most Read