Dunleavy administration has yet to explain now Kinross trucks will handle 90-degree turns for Steese detour
The giant Kinross ore trucks will have to make three 90-degree turns to get from the Johansen Expressway to the Steese Expressway during the two years or more that the existing intersection will be closed as part of a $100-million-plus construction job.
Will the trucks be able to make the turns? How many lanes will they take up when doing so? What is the added cost for building the temporary construction road to make it strong enough and wide enough to handle the 164,000-pound trucks? How much will the need to accommodate the Kinross trucks add to the cost of the temporary road?
Had the Kinross ore-hauling plan undergone proper review, these questions would have all been answered by now.
But the Dunleavy administration, which is acting like a business partner of Kinross, has yet to provide details to the public. State experts have not examined the project in a detached manner or pressed the company for information.
The Johansen intersection is to be rebuilt starting in 2024 or 2025, a project that will lead to significant traffic issues. Here is a detailed map of the temporary detour.
The latest cost estimate for the entire project is $108 million, but count on it being far higher than that. In 2020, the estimated construction cost was $49 million.
The temporary road is to lead north from the Johansen near the Walmart intersection and then head east to intersect with the Steese Expressway just beyond a spot opposite the Birch Hill Cemetery.
The transportation department hasn’t had the temporary road built yet, of course, to road test the route, but it needs to provide answers Thursday when it takes public comment on the Johansen project from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Yukon Room at the Westmark.
There will be a presentation and a Q&A session.
Comments on the project are due Thursday.
The public notice suggests contacting Jennifer Wright, engineering manager, at jennifer.wright@alaska.gov
