NOTICE OF INTENT TO BEGIN ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND FLOODPLAIN ENCROACHMENT

Project Title: Muldoon Road Pavement Preservation: DeBarr Road to JBER Gate Number 3
Project No.: CFHWY01040 / 0544024

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) has assumed the responsibilities of the Federal Highway Administration under 23 U.S.C. 327 and is soliciting comments and information on a proposal to resurface Muldoon Road from approximately DeBarr Road to the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) Gate Number 3 in Anchorage, Alaska. The primary purpose of the proposed project is to extend the service life of Muldoon Road to reduce maintenance costs, as well as make safety and drainage improvements.

The proposed work may include the following:

• Pavement preservation activities, including resurfacing, structural dig outs, and maintenance of medians, sidewalks, shared-use pathways, and pedestrian facilities (including ADA improvements)
• Repairing or replacing roadside hardware, including:
  • Traffic signals/stoplights and street lighting
  • Traffic recorders, guardrails, pedestrian fencing/railing, barriers, signs, etc.
• Intersection improvements, including lane reconfiguration, channelization, modification to islands, and realignment of crosswalks
• Improvements to drainage facilities (i.e. ditches, culverts, storm drains, under drains, and storm control structures like sediment basins and retention ponds)
• Bridge repairs, such as replacing bridge barriers and railing, crack and joint sealing, abutment erosion repairs, utility connections, etc.
• Relocating utilities as needed
• Vegetation clearing and grubbing

The proposed project encroaches into the regulatory floodway associated with the South Fork Chester Creek (FEMA FIRM Panel 0200050778D). The regulatory floodway is conveyed via a bridge on Muldoon Road, near the DeBarr Road intersection. The proposed project may also encroach into the base (100-year) floodplain associated with the North Branch of South Fork Chester Creek. Project activities that could impact the regulatory floodway and floodplains would include vegetation clearing and grubbing, and hardware installation. Bridge repairs and culvert replacement or repair would be functionally dependent uses of the regulatory floodway and floodplains. No net changes to base flood elevations are anticipated.

This proposed project will comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; Executive Orders: 11990 (Wetlands Protection), 11988 (Floodplain Protection), the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and U.S. DOT Act Section 4(f).

Construction for the proposed project is anticipated to begin in Summer 2030. To ensure that all possible factors are considered, please provide written comments to the following address by May 24, 2026.

Heidi Zimmer, Regional Environmental Manager
DOT&PF Preliminary Design & Environmental
P.O. Box 196900
Anchorage, Alaska 99519-6900
heidi.zimmer@alaska.gov

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Kristina Busch, P.E., Project Manager, at 269-0567 or kristina.busch@alaska.gov.

The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable Federal environmental laws for this project are being, or have been, carried out by DOT&PF pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated April 13, 2023 and executed by FHWA and DOT&PF.

It is the policy of the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) that no person shall be excluded from participation in, or be denied benefits of any and all programs or activities we provide based on race, religion, color, gender, age, marital status, ability, or national origin, regardless of the funding source including Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Highway Administration and State of Alaska Funds.

The DOT&PF complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Individuals with a hearing impairment can contact DOT&PF at our Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (907) 269-0473.