If you’ve driven through the Kenai Peninsula recently, you’ve likely noticed traffic is back.
Roads are again seeing the traffic they saw in summer 2019, and then some, according to data from the Alaska Department of Transportation.
The department tracks how many cars pass through hundreds of seasonal and permanent stations around the state. One of those stations is Milepost 155 of the Sterling Highway, in Anchor Point.
Last month, it saw on average 23 percent more traffic each day than it did in 2019, for an average of 700 more cars daily.
June’s numbers are also up from their 2019 monthly averages so far, by 12 percent. The station is seeing on average 550 more cars per day.
Meanwhile, there are shortages of rental cars and RVs statewide. DOT spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said she thinks traffic numbers will continue to rise as tourists return to the state.
“The independent travelers are here, they’re on the road, they’re vacationing," she said.
Traffic numbers at the Anchor Point station fluctuated in 2020. But on average, they were down 6 percent for the year from 2019.
