What you need to know:
- A major downtown Wasilla road project starting next year will convert Main Street and Yenlo Street into one-way corridors and add new traffic signals, bike lanes and sidewalks. Construction on the area is expected to finish in 2027.
- The project will extend Yenlo Street north to connect with Bogard Road and south to cross the railroad and link with Talkeetna Street. Talkeetna Street will also be newly paved and extended to meet Knik-Goose Bay Road.
- The redesign aims to smooth growing traffic volumes through downtown while addressing Main Street’s ruts, heaves and potholes. The federally funded project, delayed for decades by planning gaps and the area’s rapid population growth, is expected to cost $70 million.
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WASILLA — A major road overhaul slated to start next year will convert Wasilla’s downtown corridor into a pair of one-way streets designed to quickly filter traffic, replace a series of stop sign intersections with new traffic signals, and add dedicated bike lanes.
The project will change Main Street to three southbound-only lanes and move all northbound traffic two blocks east to Yenlo Street, which runs parallel to the Carrs shopping center and Kaladi Brothers Coffee, according to design documents.
Yenlo will also be extended slightly north to connect with Bogard Road across the street from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, and south to cross the Parks Highway and railroad tracks at a new signal, meeting Talkeetna Street, the design shows…