Lowell Point Road to reopen Friday, almost 3 weeks after landslide

Road will shut down for 3 additional days next week for further blasting
Lowell Point Road to reopen
Published: May. 24, 2022 at 10:59 AM AKDT

SEWARD, Alaska (KTUU) - Lowell Point Road is scheduled to reopen Friday at noon, 20 days after a massive landslide buried the road south of Seward in debris.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough, City of Seward and Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management announced the date in a Facebook post, adding that the road will close again for three days next week for additional blasting work along the side of Bear Mountain, which sits just south of Seward. The road will close between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on May 31, June 1 and 2, and officials advise motorists to take precautions when traveling through the area.

“It is important to remember that Lowell Point Road has been and will continue to be considered a hazardous road and Bear Mountain is still considered unstable, and will continue to be unstable for the foreseeable future,” the post says. “Heavy rains, snow, or earthquakes can cause further landslides meaning work related to this disaster will be ongoing for the foreseeable future.”

The borough also said the free marine shuttle service, which has been operating for residents courtesy of Miller’s Landing and Aurora Charters, will discontinue when Lowell Point Road reopens Friday, but will be offered again during the three-day stretch when the road closes for blasting work.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration for the area on May 13 when approximately 200 residents and their vehicles were cut off from the main town of Seward, just north of the slide.

The landslide let loose on May 7 as emergency crews were working to clean debris from up a previous, smaller slide on the road. The amount of dirt, rocks and trees was enough to bury the road in an estimated 40,000 cubic yards of debris that measured approximately 300 feet wide.

Lowell Point Road is scheduled to reopen Friday at noon, 20 days after a massive landslide buried the road south of Seward in debris.(Courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough/Balinda O'Neal)

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