Firewood from the Sterling Highway Milepost 45–60 Project is available for pick-up in Cooper Landing.
Starting this week, the Alaska Department of Transportation said wood can be collected at the end of Langille Road between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Logs are about 20-feet long and come from excavation work on the highway bypass project, which is rerouting a 15-mile stretch of the Sterling Highway around Cooper Landing. DOT says people should bring a chainsaw and safety equipment, and that a four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended to access the site.
Construction on the bypass project, meanwhile, is starting to wrap up for the season.
This summer, crews worked on building out a new alignment on the west side of the project, between mileposts 56 and 58 of the Sterling Highway. Archeologists with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe also spent the summer excavating Dena’ina artifacts from the area by the site.
Project Engineer Shaun Combs said while rain delayed some construction this summer, contractors are now finishing paving work on the section of road near Fuller Creek and will add guard rails and signage to the new alignment by the first week of November. Combs said they’ll add other finishing touches to that part of the project next spring.
He said crews have also started on the next phases of the job — including off-road work on the west side of Juneau Creek.
“We just ask people to keep their eyes open if they’re out there hiking on the trail system,” Combs said. “But for the most part, we’re very aware of what’s going on and where people are at. Just follow whatever signage you see out there and be safe.”
DOT hopes to have the road open to traffic by 2027.
