On East End Road, the first part of the major reconstruction of the road will begin this summer. The construction will start with the section of road from the beginning of East End Road in Homer to Mile 3.75, just beyond the intersection with Kachemak Drive.
The new road will be wider, with 12-foot lanes and wider shoulders, and will have sidewalks or separate pathways on the side of the road.
Rex Young, the department's area planner for the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak, said the $12.5 million project will go out to bid this spring, and may take up to two years to complete with construction starting this year.
A meeting on the project will be held April 10 at the Paul Banks School from 4-7 p.m. Project designers as well as department consultants will be on hand to answer questions from those who live or work in the area and may be affected by the construction.
Young said the funding for this project is already approved and secured, and will not be affected by the upcoming state budget cycle. Exactly what kind of road closures will occur this summer will be part of contract bid proposals, he said, and as yet have not been determined.
The second phase of the construction will revamp East End Road to Fritz Creek, but that phase is likely a few years off and is funding-dependent, Young said.
Also on this year's construction list is the repaving of the Sterling Highway from the intersection with Pioneer Avenue to the intersection with Kachemak Drive at the base of the Homer Spit. The project will be similar to the repaving project that took place on Pioneer Avenue last summer, Young said.
The Bartlett Street reconstruction project planned for this summer will not occur this year, Young said, because of funding limitations. While some maintenance may be done on the street, plans for a reconstruction that would create a pathway as well as other features have been postponed until next year. Young said, however, that funding is in place to do the project in 2004.
The gravel-to-pavement projects that have resulted in the paving of parts of Skyline Drive, the North Fork Road, East End Road and the Old Sterling Highway in recent years will also be put on hold this year, Young said.
Diamond Ridge Road and remaining portions of Skyline Drive are on the paving list for 2004, he said, and are contingent on funding.
"We have 100 projects, and they give us funding for 57, so that's where we have to stop," Young said.
Carey James can be reached at cjames@homernews.com.
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