Phase two of the Haines Highway reconstruction project will take place this summer. The Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) said it hopes to advertise the job soon.
The most recent Haines Highway reconstruction project began in 2018 and is scheduled to take place in three phases over the course of several years. The goal is to widen and straighten the highway between Mile 3.9 and 25 to allow for a 55-mph speed limit.
The beginning of phase two had been delayed as DOT worked to resolve several right-of-way issues. Negotiations with landowners are still ongoing. To avoid further delays, DOT elected to shift the end point for phase two from 23 Mile to 20 Mile.
“We had money in the budget for this year. We felt that it was important to get a project out there to keep our contractors working,” said Greg Lockwood, preliminary design and environmental chief for DOT’s Southcoast Region.
Lockwood said plans for phase two have been finalized but await approval. The project will be advertised as soon as plans receive approval from headquarters. If everything runs smoothly, construction could begin in late July.
“It’s not common to have multiple phases of construction,” Lockwood said. The large scale of the Haines Highway project gave DOT the flexibility to adjust the end point of phase two instead of having to resolve all right-of-way issues before beginning construction.
Phase three, which will now take place between 20 Mile and 25 Mile and involve construction of a new Chilkat River bridge, will most likely go to bid toward the end of 2021, Lockwood said. If that happens, the third and final phase of construction will begin in the spring of 2022.