Anchorage builds 1.3-mile Alaska Long Trail link

Anchorage officials and trail advocates broke ground on May 9 on a new downtown trail segment that is designed to connect the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail with the Ship Creek Trail. State bid documents describe the job as a 1.29-mile federally funded project in downtown Anchorage, with work that includes paving, drainage improvements, a reinforced concrete flood structure and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades. The project is one of the most visible urban pieces tied to the broader Alaska Long Trail effort, a proposed network that supporters say would eventually link communities from Seward to Fairbanks. The current construction job also closes a gap in Anchorage’s existing paved trail system along the waterfront. ### Where exactly will the new link run? The Downtown Trail Connection project will connect the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and the Ship Creek Trail in downtown Anchorage, according to the project website and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities notices. The route is intended to create a 14-mile continuous non-motorized corridor and complete what project materials call a missing link identified in Anchorage’s 1997 Areawide Trails Plan. (aws.state.ak.us) Anchorage’s small boat launch area is a focal point for the work. Project materials say the trail will also provide ADA-compliant non-motorized access to the small boat launch and include related safety and utility improvements. ### What is being built beyond a strip of pavement? Alaska DOT&PF’s bid package says the job includes embankment construction, riprap, paving, drainage improvements, a reinforced concrete flood structure and ADA improvements. (connectcoastaltoship.com) An earlier environmental notice also listed roadside hardware, utility relocations and vegetation clearing among the proposed elements. Alaska Beacon reported on May 13 that the Anchorage segment is also expected to include a plaza at Ship Creek centered on Dena’ina culture. The report said Ship Creek is called Dgheyaytnu in the Dena’ina language, meaning Stickleback Creek. ### How much will the downtown connector cost? State procurement documents put the engineer’s estimate between $10 million and $20 million. (aws.state.ak.us) Alaska Public Media reported on May 11 that the project cost is $15.6 million, describing it as a connection between two well-known waterfront trails. A 2024 Alaska budget backup document tied to the Anchorage Park Foundation said $13.3 million had been secured from the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions program for one mile of trail connecting Ship Creek Trail to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail downtown. (alaskabeacon.com) That document was tied to separate funding sought for an Indigenous Gateway Plaza in downtown Anchorage. (aws.state.ak.us) ### How does this fit into the Alaska Long Trail plan? Alaska Beacon reported that supporters see the Anchorage connector as one incremental piece of the Alaska Long Trail, which they described as an interlaced 500-mile network from Fairbanks to Seward. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said at the groundbreaking that the long-trail vision would “most definitely” pass through downtown Anchorage. (omb.alaska.gov) The Anchorage Park Foundation’s planning materials show the downtown connector as part of a broader set of urban trail links and wayfinding projects in Anchorage. Those materials describe downtown and Ship Creek connections as part of the city-facing braid of the longer route. ### Why has this taken so long to reach construction? (alaskabeacon.com) The project website shows public scoping documents dating to August 2022 and says the Urban Design Commission approved trail review at 65% design on June 11, 2025. State environmental notices show that DOT&PF had begun engineering and environmental review years earlier for a route that crosses floodplain areas near Cook Inlet and Ship Creek. (anchorageparkfoundation.org) May 9 public notices from the Municipality of Anchorage and local coverage show that officials treated the groundbreaking as a major downtown trail expansion after years of planning. Alaska Public Media said the project would reroute the city’s Moose Loop near the small boat launch and away from the Alaska Railroad depot on First Avenue. (connectcoastaltoship.com) ### What happens next, and when? May 15 is the next dated milestone in the state’s procurement schedule. Alaska DOT&PF said sealed bids for the AMATS Downtown Trail Connection are due by 2 p.m. that day at 4111 Aviation Avenue in Anchorage. October 15, 2027 is the completion date listed in the bid documents, while Alaska Beacon reported the connection is expected to be finished in fall 2027. (muni.org) The project website says construction is scheduled for summer 2026. (aws.state.ak.us)