Finally! The Department of Transportation Is Going To Fix Long Lake Hill

 

Boulders as large as a car, pushed to the side of the road by DOT at the top of Long Lake Hill. (Photo, Copper River Country Journal, August 2019)

The Rocks, The Cliffs, The General Terror Of Driving On Long Lake Hill Will Finally Be Addressed By DOT

One of the lesser-known challenges of living in the Copper Valley is the experience of driving the Glenn Highway. The Long Lake Hill area (from Mile 84.5 to Mile 92) is especially taxing. This year, the Department of Transportation is engaged in a project to look at realigning the road, which was originally built by local Copper Valley men, working with mules and horses, in the years before World War II. It's no wonder there are still some problems.

Long Lake Hill is an especially difficult part of the current road. Boulders that are as big as cars – perched on thin, sandy soil – hurtle down into the highway regularly.

It Won't Happen Overnight
According to Reuben Johnson, Project Manager of the Western Federal Lands Highway Division, a subdivision agency within the Federal Highway Administration, "We are working with the ADOT&PF on the rehabilitation (environmental compliance, design, construction administration) of the Glenn Highway between Mileposts 66.5 and 92, including both currently active phases (Kings River Bridge and Long Lake)."

Johnson added: "As you know, a project of this size and scope has many complexities. There are still a number of environmental compliance, design, utility relocation, right of way acquisition, and funding pieces to fall in place before this project will be ready for construction. I believe we are on the right track but, with so many critical items left to complete, it is difficult to say with confidence when we will see physical construction. We are doing our best to keep the project moving."

Long Lake Construction Planned Route 

New Planned Route at Long Lake Hill. (Click To View)

Loose boulders, waiting to come down into the Glenn Highway at Long Lake. (Photo, Country Journal, August 2019)