Providence Drive Full Closure: UAA Dr to Spirit Drive
Starting the week after Labor Day, Providence Drive will be closed between UAA Drive and Spirit Drive for needed road repairs. Construction is scheduled to last for about six weeks, with the road to reopen in mid-October.
MOA construction crews will be replacing a creek culvert that collapsed under the road in March. In order to divert the creek during construction, both eastbound and westbound lanes of the road must be closed to traffic.
Click here for a message from Mayor Berkowitz and UAA Chancellor Sandeen!
Links to Providence Dr closure resources
UAA Shuttle route information
People Mover Detours (Routes 10 & 55)
MOA Road Closure Map
Frequently Asked Questions
Click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions about this project.
Project Background
In March, MOA Street Maintenance crews discovered that one of two steel creek culverts had collapsed under Providence Drive, creating a sinkhole and structurally compromising the road surface. Both 78-inch culverts, originally installed in 1981, showed severe rust and corrosion below the waterline. The Municipality closed Providence Dr to complete emergency repairs to the road, building a temporary steel structure to bridge the gap. The temporary repair has kept the road open to traffic while a long-term solution could be designed. The new concrete culvert being installed will not rust, will have a longer lifespan, and is more seismically robust than the original culverts. The new culvert will also allow salmon in the creek to travel upstream more easily.
Why didn't this work begin earlier in the summer? A project of this size and complexity normally takes about two years to complete. Because of the timing of the culvert collapse, the Municipality has operated on an accelerated schedule of approximately six months to ensure the road will be reopened before winter. While we would have liked to begin construction earlier in the summer, it was not possible to design the project and fabricate the new culvert in time.
Drivers are encouraged to follow posted detours and use UAA Drive from the north and Elmore Road from the south to access the UAA, APU, Providence, and Alaska Native Health campuses. Anyone with questions about this project can contact the Project Management & Engineering Department at 343-8135, or email Project Administrator Brooke Blessing at brooke.blessing@anchorageak.gov.