The Problem | History | The Issues | The Process | The Alternatives | The Schedule
Originally built in the 1930s, the Sterling Highway is the only road that links western Kenai Peninsula communities (Kenai, Soldotna, and Homer) to the rest of the state. Since 1978, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) has recognized the need for improved safety and traffic flow along this highway to accommodate the increase in traffic generated by community growth and tourism. The ADOT&PF has contracted with HDR Alaska, Inc. (HDR) to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) that will examine alternatives for improvements to the Sterling Highway between mileposts (MP) 45 and 60.
THE PROBLEM
The Sterling Highway from MP 45 to 60 follows the Kenai River valley through the Kenai Mountains. The Kenai River, tributary creeks, and steep valley walls constrict the road through much of the project corridor. The scenic nature of the area, community growth, and world-class fishing on the Kenai and Russian rivers combine to create serious congestion problems for the highway from May through September. This level of congestion has created safety issues for highway travelers, especially in areas where high-speed traffic conflicts with vehicles turning on and off the highway.
The ADOT&PF seeks to improve safety, reduce congestion, and bring the road up to current “rural principal arterial” design standards.
PROJECT HISTORY
The precursor to the current Sterling Highway was built in the 1930s, connecting Cooper Landing to Kenai. It was not until 1950, however, that the Sterling and Seward highways connected Homer and the other western Kenai Peninsula communities to Anchorage. By 1973, the ADOT&PF recognized that the Sterling Highway needed improvement.
ADOT&PF initially proposed to improve the highway between MP 37 and 60. In the early 1980s and again in the 1990s, ADOT&PF began the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to determine environmental impacts of proposed highway upgrades. A number of alternative routes were identified, but later rejected, for engineering, environmental, financial, and traffic constraint reasons. The 1994 NEPA resulted in a draft EIS. ADOT&PF completed upgrades of the MP 37 to 45 section in 2001, leaving the section from MP 45 to 60 as the only section of the highway not to see substantial improvement since it was first constructed.
The current NEPA process for the highway between MP 45 and 60 was initiated in 2000, with the purpose of supplementing the 1994 Draft Environmental Impact Statement for MP 37 to 60.
Public and agency outreach and more formal scoping meetings were held between July 2000 and July 2003. Agency involvement was formalized through the establishment of an agency consultation committee. The public and Cooper Landing residents in particular have helped guide ADOT&PF as part of a stakeholder sounding board.
 Read Scoping Summary Report (October 2006) - PDF Format
Ten preliminary build alternatives and the No Build Alternative were developed and screened as a result of the comments received, technical studies, and engineering analysis. Each was evaluated for 1) consistency with the purpose and need of the project, 2) potential physical and social environmental effects, 3) transportation related effects, and 4) life cycle costs.
Read Evaluation and Alternatives Analysis document (May 2003) - PDF Format
The ADOT&PF in consultation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) identified three reasonable build alternatives plus the No Build Alternative for consideration in the Draft SEIS.
THE ISSUES
The SEIS process will consider several important issues. Some of these include:
- Increased traffic flow and safety in areas of high turning movements.
- How to balance local desires to keep traffic routed past existing businesses with alternatives that reroute traffic away from existing businesses.
- How to balance the responsibility of ADOT&PF to maintain traffic flow and improve safety with community and environmental concerns.
- How to improve communication and consultation between ADOT&PF and stakeholder groups and agencies.
- The potential changes in Cooper Landing that may result from a highway upgrade.
THE PROCESS
The ADOT&PF is in the process of preparing the Draft SEIS. To date, the ADOT&PF has conducted an alternative analysis that resulted in the selection of reasonable alternatives for more detailed engineering and environmental analyses. The Draft SEIS will provide the evaluation of a wide range of factors that influence the selection of a preferred alternative for design and construction. ADOT&PF will consider various factors when choosing a preferred alternative, including overall project cost, impacts to local communities, input from local citizens and agencies, environmental impacts, impacts on traffic, and how well each alternative solves the problems associated with congestion, and other factors considered as part of the DRAFT SEIS development process. An announcement will be made when the Draft SEIS is released, followed by a 45-day public comment period. A public hearing will be held during the public comment period.
THE ALTERNATIVES
Ten preliminary build alternatives and the No Build Alternative were developed and screened as a result of the scoping comments received, technical studies, and engineering analysis. Each was evaluated for 1) consistency with the purpose and need of the project, 2) potential physical and social environmental effects, 3) transportation related effects, and 4) life cycle costs.
Read Evaluation and Alternatives Analysis document (May 2003) - PDF Format
The ADOT&PF, in consultation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), identified three reasonable build alternatives plus the No Build Alternative for consideration in the Draft SEIS.
Reasonable Alternatives Map - PDF Format
THE SCHEDULE
 February 2008
Completion of Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)
 March 2008
Federal Review of SEIS (30 days)
 May 2008
Legal and Cooperating Agency Review of SEIS (30 days)
 June - August 2008
Public Comment Period for SEIS
July 2008
Public Hearing Period for SEIS
 September - December 2008
Preparation and Internal/Federal Review of Final EIS (FEIS)
 January - February 2009
Public Review of FEIS
March 2009
Issuance of Final ROD |
