Seldon Road Extension to open

MAT-SU—A ribbon cutting ceremony next Tuesday will mark the opening of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's newest stretch of road, the Seldon Road Extension.

"It's the first new arterial built by the Borough since 1996," said Jim Rowland, the Borough's project manager. An arterial serves regional traffic.

Construction for the $2.4 million project began last August. MAT-SU's State Legislators helped by obtaining a direct appropriation from the Legislature.

The project adds a mile to the existing Seldon Road, connecting it to Church Road. The new road provides an east-west connection, allowing drivers to bypass the George Parks Highway and the congested roads of Wasilla. "This is a great project and will reduce traffic congestion for years to come," said Borough Manager John Duffy. The project is also a key component of a major west-to-east corridor that will ultimately connect Wasilla to Palmer on a road other than the busy Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

In its most congested stretch, 17,000 vehicles a day travel the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. (The average daily traffic count is highest from Hemmer Road to the Glenn Highway; followed closely on the Wasilla side by 16,500 daily vehicles from Hyer Road to the Parks Highway.)

On the eastern end of the Borough, the ongoing Bogard Road Extension East is the project that will complete this east-west corridor. This new route will extend Bogard Road from the Trunk Road area, east to the Glenn Highway. A public meeting on the Bogard Road Extension is at Colony Middle School on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Federal, State, Borough, and City officials, as well as business leaders, are among the guests invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony for Seldon on July 17 at 1 p.m.

Take the Parks Highway to Church Road on the right, opposite the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Arena. Continue 2.4 miles to the Church and Seldon roads intersection.

For more information call Project Manager Jim Rowland at (907) 745-9811.