Price of Fred Meyer intersection upgrade jumps 50% in one year due to design changes, cost increases

Estimate of $10.4M a year ago now $15.5M, but federal grant gives state a break on its share; project adds traffic light, two left-turn lanes each way and pedestrian crossing on Egan Drive

A conceptual design of upgrades planned next year at the intersection of Egan Drive and Yandukin Drive. (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

A traffic light and other upgrades at what’s commonly known as the Fred Meyer intersection on Egan Drive will cost about 50% more than estimated a year ago, but a newly awarded federal grant means the state won’t have to pay construction-related costs, according to state transportation officials.

The total cost of the project at the intersection of Egan and Yandukin Drive is estimated at $15.5 million, compared to $10.4 million a year ago, Jill Melcher, planning chief for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ Southcoast Region, said Tuesday. Of that, about $12.2 million is for construction, which the grant is slated to cover without any matching funds from the state.

The state typically is responsible for matching 9.03% to 20% of federal funds for projects included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP), according to the department.

Other project costs beyond construction include design and planning, which has been occurring for several years, Melcher said. The intersection also has received some interim upgrades such as altering the left-turn lanes from Egan to improve drivers’ line-of-sight.

Numerous projects in Juneau have seen huge price increases recently, some of which have been attributed to Trump administration actions such as tariffs while other causes predate his return to office 18 months ago.

A proposed private cruise dock that Huna Totem Corp. is downsizing after an estimated cost of $150 million in 2023 rose to $250 million this year. The Juneau Assembly earlier this year abandoned plans to install a gondola at Eaglecrest Ski Area when the cost went from less than $10 million in 2022 to an estimated $37 million this year. A proposed second Juneau-Douglas crossing, rising from an estimated $90 million in a city study in 2020 to as much as $530 million in a state study published last July.

Melcher said the $10.4 million total cost listed in the STIP in July of 2025 for the Egan-Yandukin project "was our best guess at the time of when it was submitted."

"Since then there has been little tweaks here and there," she said. "When they go through the design phase this is quite common, where the cost might change."

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Conceptual designs of upgrades at the intersection of Egan Drive and Yandukin Drive published in 2021 (left) and this year (right). (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)

A current design map of the planned upgrade shows more extensive lane changes than a preliminary concept map published in 2021.

James Brown, the project’s design manager for the DOTPF, told the Juneau Planning Commission last month a major reason for the changes is commercial development occurring along the inbound side of Egan Drive, resulting in more vehicle traffic in the area as well as more pedestrians trying to cross the highway.

The intersection has long been considered one of the most hazardous in Juneau. A press release issued by DOTPF notes "Southbound drivers turning left (from Egan) currently cross oncoming highway traffic without the aid of a signal, and the intersection offers no safe crossing option for pedestrians or bicyclists."

The intersection serves 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles per day, with volumes expected to grow by approximately 8,000 vehicles per day as nearby development continues," the press release states.

The current design features a traffic light for inbound and outbound traffic on Egan Drive, with two left-turn lanes going each way for vehicles to access the intersecting roads. Vehicles on the connecting streets will enter the thoroughfare via acceleration lanes in each direction. There also will be push-button pedestrian crossings across Egan and the access lanes.

Brown noted some features designers were evaluating, such as a pedestrian overpass, are not in the current design due to cost and other factors such as a need for more data.

"Basically we're going to put the signal in place first and pedestrian crossings for addressing it with that first, and then there's going to be an assessment of how well that functions," he told the Planning Commission. "But we have an alternative lined up that if we see that there's a need for that we have identified that already."

Work on the Egan-Yandukin intersection is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2027 and be completed in about six months, according to project officials.

Melcher said the opportunity to apply for a federal BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant occurred about a month ago, with an award of $12,151,156 announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation last week. She said the project previously was mostly federally funded in the STIP, but "now we can free up those entitlement funds for another project."

The state still needs to complete certain requirements to actually get the grant funds. The DOTPF press release notes state transportation officials "will complete the required federal grant agreement process with the U.S. Department of Transportation before project funds are obligated."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.