The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Seward to Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm, and Kenai Mountains. The Seward Highway is numbered Alaska Route 9 (AK-9) for the first from Seward to the Sterling Highway and AK-1 for the remaining distance to Anchorage. At the junction with the Sterling Highway, AK-1 turns west towards Sterling and Homer. About of the Seward Highway leading into Anchorage is built to freeway standards. In Anchorage, the Seward Highway terminates at an intersection with 5th Avenue, which AK-1 is routed to, and which then leads to the Glenn Highway freeway.
Route description
The full length of the Seward Highway has been listed on the National Highway System (NHS), a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. The segment designated AK-9 between Seward and Tern Lake Junction is part of the STRAHNET subsystem, highways that are important to defense policy and which provide defense access, continuity and emergency capabilities for defense purposes. The remainder that follows AK-1 is also designated Interstate A-1 (A-1) and included in the NHS on that basis. The state's Interstate Highways are not required to comply with Interstate Highway standards, instead "shall be designed in accordance with such geometric and construction standards as are adequate for current and probable future traffic demands and the needs of the locality of the highway" under federal law. The highway is maintained by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (Alaska DOT&PF), and the A-1 designation is not signed along the highway. In 2010, 2,520 vehicles used the highway near the junction with Sterling Highway in a measure of the annual average daily traffic, the lowest tally along the highway. The highest traffic count as recorded by Alaska DOT&PF was 58,799 vehicles daily at the Dowling Road overpass in Anchorage. In 2012, Life magazine included the Seward Highway in its list of Most Scenic Drives in the World.
Seward to Bear Creek
The Seward Highway begins at an intersection with Railway Avenue, in Seward, less than from Resurrection Bay. At this point, the Seward Highway is two lanes, with a parking lane on each side. The Seward Highway is designated as AK-9 at this point of the route. The highway continues through downtown Seward and residential areas. The highway continues past the Seward Airport and Exit Glacier road, before entering the unincorporated community of Bear Creek. Just after entering Bear Creek, a series of tracks belonging to the Alaska Railroad comes alongside the roadway. These railroad tracks continue on with the Seward Highway until Moose Pass, return near a junction with the Portage Glacier Highway, and remain until the highway becomes a freeway, in southern Anchorage. The Seward Highway proceeds through central Bear Creek, passing Bear Lake, until entering Chugach National Forest.
Chugach National Forest
The Seward Highway enters the Chugach National Forest just after its start. The highway enters the Chugach National Forest while it is still part of the Bear Creek community, so it gives the appearance of still being inside that census-designated place. After a mile or so (1.6 km) though, the area surrounding the highway begins to look more like a national forest. The Alaska Railroad weaves back and forth under the highway, which causes the highway to traverse a series of small bridges. For a few miles after the bridges, the Seward Highway is a four-lane road, but then merges back to two lane. After passing through about of forest, the highway passes Primrose Spur Road, and enters Primrose. For the next five or so miles (8 km), the route runs on a thin strip of land between the mountains and Kenai Lake. At the northern end of Kenai Lake, the route passes through Crown Point, and provides access to a large campground where Trail Creek empties into Kenai Lake. The highway runs alongside Trail Creek for about , before passing the settlement of Moose Pass. The road continues, passing along Upper Trail Lake for a few miles, before returning to the dense forest, and passing a large mountain range. After a few more miles, the road passes the Tern Lake Junction, and intersects with Alaska Route 1 (AK-1) (also known as the Sterling Highway), where Alaska Route 9 terminates, and the Seward Highway is designated to AK-1.