II. Existing Conditions A. Area Context The north end of Campbell Airstrip Road begins at Tudor Road and extends south into Far North Bicentennial Park (FNBP). It leads to at least six popular trailheads that access FNBP and Chugach State Park. It is also the only access route for more than 100 residential homes within the Stuckagain Heights neighborhood. On the north end, nearest to Tudor Road, is Benny Benson School, Fire Station #14, the 110-acre Alaska Botanical Garden (Garden) and a MOA-owned snow disposal site. Campbell Airstrip Road was originally constructed by the US Army in 1942 as an access to the Campbell Airfield. Over the years, several improvements have been made to Campbell Airstrip Road between Tudor Road south to the Campbell Airstrip Trailhead parking area at Mile 1.1. In 1985, the Rendezvous Trailhead parking lot and grade-separated tunnel were constructed for dog mushing at mile 0.3. In 1989, Mile 0.0 to 0.3 was re-aligned and improved to two 12-foot lanes and two 5-foot shoulders, including an 8-foot wide multi-use trail. This multi-use trail located on the east side begins at Tudor Road, crosses School Road, and terminates at mile 0.3. In 1996, Mile 0.7 to 1.1 of the road was upgraded to two 11.8-foot lanes and two 5-foot shoulders. It included a 7.8-foot wide multiuse trail on the west side and a grade-separated crossing (tunnel) at Mile 0.9 for a dog mushing trail. The middle section of road (Mile 0.3 to 0.7), linking both of the previously upgraded sections, has never been improved (with the exception of an asphalt surfacing in 2001) and is the Campbell Airstrip Road at Mile 0.71 looking north main focus for this report. March 2012 6
B. Facility Description Mile 0.3 to 0.7 According to the Official Streets & Highway Plan (OS&HP), Campbell Airstrip Road is designated as a Country Lane. A Country Lane is a special type of local or collector street having unique scenic attributes. Campbell Airstrip Road - Country Lane From Mile 0.3 to Mile 0.7, the roadway surface is typically 22 feet wide with no shoulders, drainage ditches, or pedestrian facilities. Pedestrians and cyclists share this section of the road with vehicles. In many places the vegetated slopes extend to the edge of the driving surface. This impacts sight distances, snow removal, and provides no swerving room for vehicle or pedestrian. A separated dog mushing trail crosses underneath the roadway near the north end of the project through a 12-foot round culvert. A small parking area known as the Rendezvous Trailhead parking lot is located at Mile 0.4. There are no existing utilities or street lighting along this segment. The posted speed limit is 30 miles per hour (MPH). The overall condition of the road is poor, primarily due to poor surface and subsurface drainage and silty soils. Campbell Airstrip Road functions as a neighborhood collector and park road, carrying traffic from the Stuckagain Heights neighborhood, Snow berms in winter reduce shoulder width and sight distance March 2012 7
Chugach State Park and Far North Bicentennial Park (FNBP) to Tudor Road. Between Mile 0.3 and 0.7 there are no street intersections and there is only one driveway to the Alaska Botanical Garden at approximately Mile 0.3. There are no People Mover Transit routes along Campbell Airstrip Road although two Transit routes service north of the project area: Routes 1 and 75 travel east/west along Tudor Road (FIGURE 3). At this time People Mover has no plans to operate along Campbell Airstrip Road. School attendance boundaries include Baxter Elementary School, Wendler Middle School, and East High School. Benny Benson Secondary School, an alternative High School, is located on the east side of the road near the Tudor Road intersection. Students attending this school are not bussed. The only Anchorage School District bus stop for the area is at Mile 1.1 of Campbell Airstrip Road at the Campbell Airstrip Trailhead. C. Land Use and Ownership The Campbell Airstrip Road winds through land owned by the Heritage Land Bank (HLB) on the north end near Tudor Road and through Far North Bicentennial Park (FNBP) on the southern end. Adjacent lands are zoned Public Lands and Institutions (PLI) (FIGURE 3). There is no residential housing adjacent to the roadway. The majority of the roadway is surrounded by a vegetated forest that provides important wildlife habitat and an abundance of recreational trails for dog mushing, skiing, biking, Surrounding forest along Campbell Airstrip Road and hiking. There is no platted right-of-way (ROW) for the roadway. An easement was established for the roadway by Federal Patent in 1980 when the lands were transferred to the State of Alaska. This easement is described as a right-of-way, for an access road, forty (40) feet in width. March 2012 8
In 1984 the lands were transferred by Patent from the State of Alaska to the Municipality of Anchorage for public park and recreational purposes. This transfer was subject to all reservations, conditions and easements of record contained in the federal patent. D. Geotechnical Summary The pavement along the alignment is cracked and showing distress in a number of locations, particularly in areas where surface flow crosses the road. Poor surface drainage resulting from flat grades, an absence of ditches, and vegetation in existing ditches is believed to have contributed to seasonal saturation of the structural road section resulting in poor pavement performance. Existing conditions along Campbell Airstrip Road (CAR) in April 2011 A current geotechnical investigation has not been completed for this phase of the project (See Appendix D). Previous investigations include a 1989 geotechnical investigation performed for the roadway realignment from Mile 0.0 to 0.3 and a 1995 geotechnical investigation for a proposed dog mushing tunnel, roadway upgrade and potential gravel borrow source between Mile 0.7 and 1.1. Subsurface conditions from Mile 0.0 to 0.3 generally consisted of silt (ML) and silty sand to silty gravel (SM to GM). The silt contained varying amounts of sand and gravel and was encountered to depths between 2 to 6 feet. The silt had a frost classification of F4. The silty sand and gravel was encountered below the surficial silt with a frost classification mostly of F3. The silty sand and gravel was generally very dense and had low moisture contents. March 2012 9
Two major soil types were typically encountered within the road bed from Mile 0.7 to 1.1: gravel (GP-GM to GM) and sand (SP-SM to SM). The gravel extended to approximately 9.8 feet below ground surface and is considered fill material for the road. The gravel was typically sandy and dense to very dense with moisture contents ranging from approximately 3 percent to 18 percent. The sand contained variable amounts of silt and gravel and was poorly graded. Silt content ranged from approximate 6 percent to 27 percent with the silt content increasing with depth. The gravel contents ranged from 16 to 37 percent. The sand was medium dense to very dense with a frost classification of F1 to F2. March 2012 10
Mc Lean Place Baxter Road MOA Project #10-028 R-2M Defiance Street R-3 Route 1 Route 75 R-3 R-1 B-1A Routes 1, 75 PLI Campbell Airstrip Road PLI LEGEND Project Area People Mover Bus Stop Transit Route(s) B-1A = Local & Neighborhood Business B-3 SL = General Business District (SL) PLI = Public Lands & Institutions R-1 = Single Family Residential R-2M = Multiple Family Residential R-3 = Multiple Family Residential Private State of Alaska MOA HLB MOA Park BLM MOA (leased by ABG)³ Figure 3 - Area Zoning, Ownership & Existing Transit Routes Pre-Final Design Study Report March 2012 11
E. Environmental Based on a review of the Anchorage Wetlands Management Plan and the MOA Wetlands Atlas, 2008 Edition, Class A wetlands associated with the North Fork of Little Campbell Creek and Upper Chester Creek are located approximately 130 feet or more to the west of the roadway. The North Fork of Little Campbell Creek is also to the southwest and outside the project corridor (FIGURE 4). No impacts to the wetlands are anticipated at this time; however, a jurisdictional determination will be requested from the Army Corps of Engineers during the design phase of the project. In the event that jurisdictional wetlands are impacted, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 permit for any fill activities would be required. This project will not involve any in-stream work in the North Fork of Little Campbell Creek; therefore a Fish Habitat Permit from Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) is not required. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), dated September 25, 2009, the Campbell Airstrip Roadway corridor is mapped as Zone X. The area is determined to be outside the 0.2 percent annual chance floodplain. F. Drainage There is no piped storm drain system within the project area. Runoff is generally surface flow toward the west, into poorly defined or non-existent roadside ditches. The existing drainage is shown in FIGURE 5. G. Vegetation Much of the vegetation in the project area is second growth boreal forest with two main types of vegetative groups: Mixed Forest toward the south end of the project and Deciduous Forest found along the majority of the corridor. Mature paper birch is the primary tree type lining both sides of the road with young white spruce intermixed in the adjacent forests. Decades ago, a bark beetle infestation throughout Southcentral Alaska resulted in changes to the forest vegetation including the loss of March 2012 12
spruce stands in the project area; therefore, the white spruce tend to be younger. The forest floor is scattered with large decaying logs now covered with moss, mushrooms, ferns and other herbaceous plants. Alder, willow, and some cottonwood are also found within the project corridor. A broad range of shrubs and herbaceous plants create the understory vegetation that is generally low, allowing open views through the forest. Shrubs include native rose, raspberry, blueberry, currant and highbush cranberry. Ferns, mushrooms, and equisetum form a mat of vegetation on the forest floor that is interspersed with native wildflowers. Wildlife includes moose and bear, small mammals, and numerous bird species. Further south, outside the project limits, fish are present in Campbell Creek and create a draw for bears. Both Brown and Black bears have a presence in the area. Views from the road are typically foreground views with the adjacent forest limiting distant views from the road. Birch trees currently create a partial canopy over sections of the road. Shrubs overhang the edge of the shoulders creating a confined feeling and limiting sight distances. The existing vegetation that lines the road also protects views to the road from adjacent users. In addition, topography provides a buffer in several locations where the road is higher or lower than adjacent uses. March 2012 13
Defiance S Mc Lean P Baxter R Kingston MOA Project #10-028 Tudor Road Upper Chester Creek C Campbell Airstrip Road A North Fork Little Campbell Creek North Fork Little Campbell Creek South Fork Little Campbell Creek A LEGEND A: Class A Wetlands C: Class C Wetlands D: Not Designated Wetlands ³ D A A A Streams Project Area Figure 4 - Wetlands Map Pre-Final Design Study Report March 2012 14
Figure 5 - Existing Drainage Map Pre-Final Design Study Report March 2012 15
H. Utilities There are no existing utilities between Mile 0.3 and 0.7. However, the dog mushing tunnel at Mile 0.3 does have lighting fixtures. It is unknown if the lighting fixtures were ever connected to a power source and if so, where the power source was located. Utility locations in the vicinity of the project area are based on utility company facility maps. Their locations are considered conceptual at this phase. Utility companies will be coordinated with during the design phase and a utility conflict report will be prepared (if required). 1. Natural Gas ENSTAR Natural Gas Company owns and operates facilities north of the project limits, at Mile 0.0. A 12-inch gas transmission main runs along the south side of Tudor Road. Approximately 70 feet south of the Tudor Road ROW, on the west side of Campbell Airstrip Road, there is a gas main maintenance access facility. This maintenance facility is gated and accessed via a gravel driveway from Campbell Airstrip Road. Fire Station #14 and the Benny Benson School are serviced directly from the Enstar facility just south of gas main along Tudor Road. Tudor along Campbell Airstrip Rd 2. Electric Chugach Electric Association (CEA) owns and operates facilities north of the project area. There is a load center on the southwest corner of the Tudor Road and Campbell Airstrip Road intersection and a power pole on the southeast corner. Running parallel to Tudor Road, on the south side of Tudor, is an overhead 3- phase conductor, a 230 kv overhead conductor, a 115 kv overhead conductor, and a 3-phase underground primary conductor. A 3-phase conductor runs south from Tudor Road, through a 4 inch PVC conduit, on the east side of Fire Station #14 and terminates at the north end of the Alaska Botanical Garden. March 2012 16
Roadway luminaire poles are located on the west side of Campbell Airstrip Road from Tudor Road south to the cluster mailboxes. 3. Telephone Alaska Communication Systems (ACS) owns and operates telephone facilities north of the project area. Under Tudor Road, there are multiple cables running east-west. Just south of Tudor Road, still running east-west, there is a 4-inch PVC line containing telephone and fiber optic cables. This line branches south and runs along the east side of Campbell Airstrip Road, servicing Fire Station #14. Benny Benson School is serviced from a line running directly south to the school from Tudor Road. ACS does not own any facilities along Campbell Airstrip Road south of Fire Station #14. 4. Cable Television General Communications Inc. (GCI) also owns and operates cable facilities north of the project area. A 0.625 coaxial inch cable runs along the east side of Campbell Airstrip Road from Tudor Road, servicing Fire Station #14. GCI does not have any facilities along Campbell Airstrip Road south of Fire Station #14. March 2012 17