Sterling Highway

The Sterling Highway is a 138-mile-long (222 km) state highway in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, 90 miles (140 km) south of Anchorage, to Homer.

This article is about the section of Alaska Route 1 between Homer and Term Lake Junction. For the entire route, see Alaska Route 1.

Sterling Highway
Sterling Highway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Alaska DOT&PF
Length132 mi[1] (212 km)
Existed1950–present
Major junctions
South end Alaska Marine Highway in Homer
North end AK-1 / AK-9 (Seward Highway) in Chugach National Forest
Highway system
Sterling Highway eastbound, entering the Kenai Mountains.
Sterling Highway at mile 170 (km 274), descending a long, steep hill (locally known as "Baycrest Hill") towards Homer.

Route description

The Sterling Highway is part of Alaska Route 1. It leads mainly west from Tern Lake to Soldotna, paralleling the Kenai River, at which point it turns south to follow the eastern shore of Cook Inlet. It is the only highway in the western and central Kenai Peninsula, and most of the population of the Kenai Peninsula Borough lives near it. The highway also gives access to many extremely popular fishing and recreation areas, including the Chugach National Forest, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and the Kenai, Funny, and Russian rivers. The southern end of the highway is at the tip of the Homer Spit, a sandbar extending 4.5 miles (7.2 km) into Kachemak Bay. A ferry terminal here connects the road to the Alaska Marine Highway.[1]

History

Construction of the highway began in 1947 and was completed in 1950.

Major intersections

Mileposts on the Seward Highway begin with Mile 37 (60 km), continuing from the mileposts of the Seward Highway. (The 0 (zero) mile marker for the Seward Highway is in downtown Seward, at the intersection of 3rd and Railway Avenues. Thus, mileposts along the Sterling Highway reflect distance from Seward, which is not actually on the Sterling Highway.

The entire route is in Kenai Peninsula Borough.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Homer00.0 AK-1 south (Lake Street) / Health StreetContinues south to Alaska Marine Highway terminal
Soldotna75121Kenai Spur Highway north – Kenai
Chugach National Forest132212 AK-1 north / AK-9 south (Seward Highway) – Anchorage, SewardTern Lake Junction; northern terminus of AK-9
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

KML is from Wikidata
  1. Google (January 11, 2020). "Sterling Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
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