Anchorage

Muldoon Road to see 2-week shutdown of Glenn Highway access

Work to relocate a water main will cut off Muldoon Road's access to the Glenn Highway for more than two weeks starting Saturday, sending Muldoon drivers headed to or from the Glenn on a detour along Boniface Parkway.

The project is associated with the continuing expansion of the Glenn-Muldoon interchange, a project paid for with a mix of state and federal funds and set to be finished by November 2018.

Shannon McCarthy, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said the closures are set to begin at 2 a.m. Saturday and continue until 5 a.m. Oct. 17. Muldoon Road's intersection with Boundary Avenue, as well as the northbound Glenn Highway's off-ramp to and on-ramp from Muldoon Road, are among the closures.

Northbound and southbound drivers on the Glenn will still be able to reach North Muldoon Road to access the Tikahtnu Commons shopping area, Bartlett High School and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. A pedestrian route through the work area will remain open.

Travel from the Glenn to Muldoon Road or vice versa will still be possible via a detour along the highway interchange at Boniface Parkway, as well as DeBarr Road headed east or west between Boniface and Muldoon.

Although the water main wasn't affected by initial stages of the Glenn-Muldoon project, McCarthy said, it now needs to be relocated because it might be damaged under the weight of the expanded interchange.

"It's one of the older ones in Anchorage, and it feeds a huge area of East Anchorage," McCarthy said. "We were able to find the water main and protect it when we were working, but now they've got to replace it."

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Brian Baus, Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility's capital projects manager, said the pipe being replaced dates back to 1965. It is one of two that run to the rest of Anchorage out of the Ship Creek plant that treats water drawn from Eklutna Lake, where the city gets 90 percent of its water supply.

"It is a major piece of water infrastructure," Baus said. "What they're relocating is one of those two legs that feeds Anchorage, so it's important to get it away from the interchange."

Most costs for the $1.8 million relocation are being borne by the state, but Baus said AWWU is reimbursing some costs associated with the use of different materials and a larger diameter for the replacement pipe.

McCarthy said the overall interchange project remains on time and on budget. She said the pipe replacement shouldn't significantly affect access to Bartlett High School off North Muldoon, where the state high-school cross-country championships and a major swim meet are being held Saturday.

"We have reached out to both (events') organizations and let their membership know," McCarthy said.

Chris Klint

Chris Klint is a former ADN reporter who covered breaking news.

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