DOT&PF is proposing to widen part of the Seward Highway between Anchorage and Girdwood into a sprawling four-lane divided highway plus a new frontage road. They’re calling it a safety project, but after reviewing the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA), Bike Anchorage believes the EA reads like a post-hoc justification for massive highway widening, not an objective review of the data and options.

We all want a safer Seward Highway. The problem is, there are real ways to improve safety without turning Turnagain Arm into a super-wide, super-fast racetrack, and those options were not given a fair evaluation. Here's an overview of what's wrong with the proposal:

1) The project misidentifies the safety problem

The EA claims the big danger is aggressive passing in summer congestion. But the project’s own crash data show the most serious crashes happen in winter, at low traffic volumes, and most crashes are run-off-road types linked to speed and winter conditions, not passing. And crash rates are actually lower here than most of the state-owned arterial roads within city limits, which are getting almost no safety funding whatsoever.

2) The fix doesn’t match the real crash patterns

If winter driving conditions and excessive speed are the main issues, then a plan focused on widening and straightening the highway is the wrong tool, and will actually make high-speed crashes worse.

3) The analysis is rigged to favor maximum widening

The EA bases decisions on Level of Service and similar metrics--basically, how convenient driving is at peak times, even though those measures aren’t safety metrics. The EA also uses exaggerated assumptions and presentation tricks (like percentages instead of plain numbers) that make the widening look more beneficial than it really is.

4) The “bike/ped” piece is not safe

The proposed pathway is placed in the highway clear zone, the space meant for out-of-control vehicles that veer off the road. In other words: The plan puts people walking and biking where crashing cars are expected to go.

5) The process has damaged public trust

Project representatives have made false statements to the public and to local decisionmakers. And when the Anchorage Planning & Zoning Commission told the team to “do better” and sent the project back for more work, the team said they wouldn’t change anything because they weren’t “legally required” to.

Want the detailed receipts? Read our full comment letter here: Bike Anchorage Comment Re: Safer Seward Highway Draft EA (PDF).

Take action: submit your own comment

DOT&PF needs to hear from the public that safety improvements should be targeted, evidence-based, and proportional, not an excuse for an environmentally damaging and unnecessary highway widening.

Quick talking points you can use

Use any of these in your own words:

• This is not a safety project as presented. The EA’s story about summer passing doesn’t match the project’s own crash data, which show winter conditions and run-off-road crashes are the real issues.

• Reasonable, lower-impact safety solutions were not fairly evaluated. The process appears structured to justify a predetermined four-lane outcome.

• Stop using Level of Service (driver convenience) to justify “safety” decisions. Anchorage's Long-Range Transportation Strategy is clear that safety is a more important consideration than convenience.

• Do not put a pathway in the clear zone. People walking and biking should not be placed where out-of-control vehicles are expected to crash.

• Be honest with the public. The project team’s false statements and dismissal of community feedback have undermined trust.

• If DOT&PF wants safety results, focus resources where harm is greatest. A mega-project with major impacts is not justified when the safety case is weak and the modeling is speculative.

How to submit comments

You can submit comments to the project team by email at [email protected] or by using the comment form on the project website.

Comment deadline: February 27, 2026