The project team is diligently at work to provide screening results to the public. We are in the first stage of a process to determine which alternatives best meet the purpose and need for the project and are technically feasible to construct. The team aimed to accomplish this step, and have results ready for public review, by mid to late January of 2010. However, we are running a little behind schedule.

We promise to keep you updated and informed of our progress as we near completion. Please continue to check the H2H web site for project updates.

The revised Purpose and Need Chapter based on the fall 2009 public and agency review is now available. During our public meetings, the project team received requests from the public to incorporate the visions of local plans and specific design elements from the Anchorage Long Range Transporation Plan (LRTP) into the Purpose and Need. As a result, the Purpose and Need Chapter has been updated to include these
elements. In addition, reducing Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV) traffic and
improving the movement of freight were added as goals of the proposed project.

The revised Screening Criteria Memo is also available. This memo presents the proposed screening process and criteria that is being used to determine which alternatives are reasonable and will be studied in detail in the environmental impact statement (EIS). We also heard comments from the public that neighborhood impacts are a primary concern and should be considered in the screening criteria. As a result, criteria were added to measure neighborhood impacts, SOV use, freight travel times, and
consistency with local plans.

Also, the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) Technical Memorandum has been posted to the library page. This technical report describes three economic, demographic, and fiscal projections from 2010 to 2035 for the state of Alaska and Greater Anchorage (consisting of
the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough). The new numbers described in the report are in line with our estimates and confirm our future growth projections.

Check out the different alternatives that are currently under consideration during the screening process by clicking on the link below:

Preliminary Range of Alternatives Maps

Here are a few examples of what the project team anticipates H2H will do for the Anchorage community:

• A well-designed connection between the Glenn Highway and the Seward Highway could remove 100,000 vehicles from city streets and eliminate nineteen failing intersections.
  
  
• An Anchorage road network including the Glenn-Seward connection would eliminate over 8,000 daily travel hours in congestion. That equates to a savings worth upwards of $45 million per year in people’s time.
  
  
• Lower accident risk and exposure is another tremendous benefit. Travel on controlled access roads is more than twice as safe as on city streets.

  - Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities