Traffic lights haven’t controlled the interchange where Dowling Road plunges under the Seward Highway since 2004. The state’s first multi-lane roundabouts were installed that year, transforming a traditional diamond interchange into a sort of dog-bone shape. Drivers got used to the “yield-and-look-left” pattern, yet design shortcomings demanded an upgrade.
Completed ahead of schedule in 2022, the Dowling Road and Seward Highway interchange reconstruction by Lounsbury & Associates is now nominated for an Engineering Excellence award, which will be announced by the end of this month. It graces this issue’s cover as a representative of all the projects that bring out the best in the state’s engineers and architects.