Road construction summer 2025

Question

I just read an article in the Anchorage Daily News about bridge work scheduled to begin in April. The Knik River bridge is north of Anchorage before you get to Palmer/Wasilla. Since there is so much commuter traffic on that bridge, they are going to have two lanes going southbound in the morning from the valley and one lane going north, and the opposite in the afternoon. The article didn't say exactly what time in the am and pm it would switch, but I imagine it will be for morning and afternoon rush hour. So, factor that into your drive times and plan to go north in the morning and south in the afternoon against the traffic. It also said the bridge work would be fore 30 days, but later in the article, it said it wouldn't be completed till August. I'll post again if I see any more info. Others may have a link to more information they can post as well. I would hate for anyone to miss their flights or tours because of delays.

Answer

Here’s a detailed summary of the construction and traffic impacts on the Knik River Bridges (on the Glenn Highway, north of Anchorage toward the Matanuska-Susitna Valley) for summer 2025:

What is happening: The two bridge spans (northbound and southbound) over the Knik River are undergoing major deck and joint rehabilitation — including repairing potholes/ruts, installing a polyester concrete overlay, replacing approach slabs, drainage hardware, expansion joints and guardrail.

Timeline & closures:

The northbound span was closed starting Wednesday, April 23, 2025 for approximately 30 days.
Once that closed span work is done, the southbound span is scheduled to close later in the summer for a similar ~30-day period.
The traffic detour plan shows the open span will carry three lanes of traffic (two lanes in the high‐demand direction during peak commute, one lane in the opposite direction).
Although the main span closures are ~30 days each, final paving, joint overlay work and “cleanup” continues through late July/early August.

Traffic pattern & direction-shift times:

During the closure of one span, traffic is all funneled onto the remaining open span which is re-striped with narrow lanes and reduced shoulders.
The special equipment (a “Road Zipper” barrier-moving machine) will shift the concrete median barrier twice daily so that two lanes serve the heavier traffic direction: in the morning toward Anchorage (southbound) and in the afternoon toward the Valley (northbound).
According to project signage: the switch for the direction of the two-lane side is about 11 a.m., and around 3 a.m. the next morning to reset for the commuter morning rush.
On weekends: Saturdays will have two lanes heading to the Mat-Su Valley (northbound), and Sundays two lanes heading toward Anchorage (southbound).

Speed limit & lane geometry: The speed limit through the work zone is reduced (45 mph mentioned) and lanes/shoulders are narrower than normal: each lane about 11 ft wide, shoulders narrowed to ~1-2 ft on one side and ~1-foot on the other.

What this means for your commute/drive time:

If you’re driving northbound (from Anchorage toward the Valley) in the morning, anticipate heavier delays — because only one lane will be dedicated northbound until the swap time. So going north in the morning will be slower than usual.
If you’re driving southbound (from the Valley toward Anchorage) in the afternoon, likewise plan for possible slowdowns when the lane shift occurs.
For best traffic flow, go north in the morning (when two lanes are southbound, one northbound – so opposite of your direction) and south in the afternoon if you can (which fits the two‐lane direction toward Anchorage in afternoon). This matches your thought.
Always allow extra time for your drive, because even with the plan the contractor anticipates delays.

Additional notes / tips:

Check traffic updates regularly at Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) or the Alaska 511 site.
Use the “zipper merge” technique: stay in both lanes until the merge, then alternate merges. This helps reduce backups in the work zone.
If you have some flexibility, avoid peak commute times or consider alternate routes (if possible) for the period of closures.
Note that while the detour uses three lanes on one span, the shoulders are reduced and the open span is under heavier load, so any incident will cause a bigger backup.

Summary: Yes, your understanding is correct — during the work one span will carry two lanes in the peak‐direction and one lane the opposite direction, and the times of lane re-configuration are roughly around early morning (~3 a.m.) and late morning (~11 a.m.) for switch to afternoon pattern. The main closure is ~30 days for each span, but final related work continues into late summer. So if you’re planning a trip or a commute in the morning northbound, allow extra time, and schedule southbound travel later in the day if possible.

Road construction summer 2025

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