Alaska Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Alaska Traffic Deaths Happen

Alaska lost 65 people on its roads in 2025, according to the Alaska Highway Safety Office’s preliminary count, down from 70 in 2024 and 82 in 2022. Pedestrian deaths went the other way and are projected at 18 for 2025, the highest count in the office’s 2019 to 2025 figures.

The safety office says most of the state’s pedestrian deaths happen in Anchorage, and state epidemiologists counted 15 pedestrian deaths in Anchorage in 2025, the city’s highest rate in a decade. On the highways, DOT&PF’s safety plan found more than half of everyone killed or seriously injured from 2016 to 2020 was in a vehicle that drifted into another lane or ran off the road.

Alaska’s Highest-Risk Roads, Corridor by Corridor

Alaska doesn’t have many roads, so the same ones come up again and again. Here’s what makes each one tough, with figures from DOT&PF, Anchorage planners and state health data wherever they’ve been published.

1. Seward Highway (Routes 1 and 9): Anchorage to Seward

The Seward Highway leaves Anchorage as a freeway, then squeezes to two lanes between the Chugach Mountains and Turnagain Arm. Sharp curves, rock walls, sightseers braking on the shoulder and impatient passing set up head-on crashes. Most of the stretch from near Girdwood to south Anchorage is a Traffic Safety Corridor, and DOT&PF’s 2022 safety corridor audit found fatal crashes still averaged about two a year after the 2006 designation, about the same as before.

DOT&PF’s fix is the Safer Seward Highway project, four divided lanes for about 20 miles from Bird Flats to Rabbit Creek. DOT data show three of the four fatal crashes there from 2017 to 2021 were head-on, Alaska Public Media reported, and the plan costs nearly $1.5 billion. Critics on the Anchorage Assembly argue the money would save more lives on city streets.

2. Glenn Highway (Route 1): Anchorage to Palmer

The Glenn carries commuters from Eagle River, Chugiak and the Mat-Su into town every weekday. It’s fast, and one snow squall can turn the stretch past Eagle River into a skating rink.

Downtown, Glenn traffic spills onto Fifth Avenue, and crash data from Anchorage’s metropolitan planning organization show 19 fatal or serious-injury crashes on Fifth between L Street and Bragaw Street from 2017 to 2021.

3. Tudor Road and Muldoon Road: Midtown and East Anchorage

Tudor Road runs east across town past the university medical district, then bends north and becomes Muldoon Road. It’s wide, fast and lined with bus stops, a deadly mix for people on foot. DOT&PF counted 2,224 crashes on Tudor and Muldoon between Minnesota Drive and Boundary Avenue from 2020 to 2024, including 10 fatal crashes and 42 serious-injury crashes. Six of the people killed were pedestrians and one was on a bike.

The Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS) high-crash network comparison found 41 fatal or serious-injury crashes on Tudor from Taft Drive to Patterson Street from 2017 to 2021, the highest count of the 24 corridors it compared. Tudor is long, though, so it ranks 13th by crash rate, the measure AMATS sorts by. DOT&PF held a public hearing on lowering speed limits on Tudor and Muldoon in June 2026.

4. Northern Lights and Benson Boulevards: Midtown Anchorage

Northern Lights and Benson run as a pair of one-way streets through Midtown, crossing Arctic Boulevard, Spenard Road and Minnesota Drive. Shoppers and bus riders cross here in the dark for much of the winter. Midtown accounted for 23 of Anchorage’s 92 pedestrian deaths from 2016 to 2025, according to the state health bulletin.

AMATS counted 24 fatal or serious-injury crashes on Northern Lights from Forest Park Drive to Muldoon Road from 2017 to 2021, and 8 on Benson from Willow Street to Redwood Street. DOT&PF has approved a federal safety project to cut through lanes on Northern Lights between LaTouche Street and Lois Drive.

5. Parks Highway (Route 3): Wasilla to Fairbanks

The Parks Highway is the Mat-Su’s main street, running past Wasilla’s big-box stores before heading north through Houston, Willow and Denali to Fairbanks. Around Wasilla it’s signals and turning traffic. Farther out, it’s long two-lane stretches shared by RVs, freight trucks and moose.

The stretch west of Wasilla toward Big Lake was one of Alaska’s first Traffic Safety Corridors. DOT&PF’s 2022 audit found fatal and major-injury crashes there dropped from about 6.2 a year before the designation to about 3.8 after, and the state decommissioned most of that corridor in 2016 and 2022 after upgrades. Farther north, DOT&PF plans to fix crash-prone curves between Big Lake Road and Willow.

6. Knik-Goose Bay Road: Wasilla to Settlers Bay and Knik

Known locally as KGB, this road runs southwest out of Wasilla through fast-growing neighborhoods. For years it was two lanes with driveways everywhere, and it’s still a Traffic Safety Corridor from about milepost 4.5 to 17.2. In its Phase 1 project fact sheet, the state said KGB’s fatal crash rate was nearly four times the national average.

The safety corridor label didn’t move the numbers much: fatal and major-injury crashes averaged about 5.2 a year both before and after the 2009 designation, the 2022 audit found. The first four-lane section, from Centaur Avenue to Fairview Loop, was substantially finished in 2024, and DOT&PF said that year that Phase 2, toward Settlers Bay, could start construction in 2027.

7. Sterling Highway (Route 1): Tern Lake to Soldotna and Homer

The Sterling Highway splits off the Seward Highway at Tern Lake and runs west through Cooper Landing, Sterling and Soldotna before heading south to Homer. Summer brings fishing traffic and RVs, and winter brings ice and short days.

The Sterling to Soldotna stretch, milepost 82.5 to 94, saw 9 deaths and 24 serious injuries from 2013 to 2022, and 8 of those deaths came in head-on collisions. Animal crashes make up more than a quarter of all crashes there. DOT&PF is rebuilding it as a divided highway, starting near Moose River.

8. Airport Way and the Steese Expressway: Fairbanks

Airport Way is Fairbanks’ main east-west road, running from the airport past University Avenue and Cushman Street to the Steese Expressway and the Richardson Highway. Both of those are Route 2: the Steese heads north toward Fox and the Richardson southeast to North Pole. In winter, ice fog and 40-below cold cut visibility and stretch stopping distances.

In DOT&PF’s Airport Way study, every intersection between University Avenue and the Steese ranked in the top 20% by crash frequency in 2010 to 2014 data. The Airport Way and Steese intersection backs up at rush hour, but its crash rate was below the statewide average. Farther west, on University Avenue, DOT&PF says the Geist Road and Johansen Expressway intersection has the most crashes of any intersection in Fairbanks, and its 2018 traffic study counted 119 crashes there from 2010 to 2014.

More High-Crash Locations Across Alaska

The big highways aren’t the whole picture. These streets and intersections in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau have published figures of their own.

Some of these roads are getting work. In early 2026, after pushback from Anchorage legislators, DOT&PF pledged more than $30 million for safety projects in Anchorage, as the Anchorage Daily News reported. That includes medians and raised islands on Tudor Road, crosswalk lighting on Tudor and Muldoon, new lighting on Gambell, signal upgrades on Gambell and Ingra, and median fencing on the Seward Highway. In Juneau, DOT&PF plans a partial signal at Egan and Yandukin, by Fred Meyer, with construction set to begin in spring 2027 on its project timeline.

How to Stay Safe on Alaska’s Most Dangerous Roads

Nobody in Alaska can just avoid the Seward or the Parks, but you can drive them knowing where the trouble is.

For Drivers:

1. Don’t pass on a hunch: Head-on crashes caused most of the recent deaths on the Seward and Sterling safety corridors. If you can’t see well past the next curve, wait for a passing lane.
2. Use the pullouts: If a line builds up behind you on a two-lane highway, use the next safe pullout and let it pass.
3. Drive for the road you have: Black ice and ice fog can hit the Glenn or Airport Way with little warning. Slow down and leave extra room.
4. Watch for moose: They’re common on the Parks, the Sterling and KGB, especially at dusk. Scan the shoulders and use high beams when you can.
5. Know the remote roads: The Dalton Highway is open year-round but much of it is gravel with few services, and the Denali Highway isn’t maintained in winter. Carry fuel, food and a way to call for help.

For Pedestrians:

1. Be seen in the dark: Anchorage pedestrian deaths peak from August to October, late at night. Wear reflective gear or carry a light.
2. Cross at signals on wide roads: On wide roads like Tudor and Muldoon, crossing mid-block leaves drivers almost no time to react.
3. Make eye contact: Wait until the car has fully stopped before you step out.

For Cyclists:

1. Use the trails: Anchorage’s Chester Creek and Campbell Creek trails keep you off the busiest arterials.
2. Run lights year-round: Winter days are short. Use front and rear lights day and night.
3. Watch turning drivers: Drivers turning right often don’t look for bikes on the path. Never assume they’ll yield.

General Tips:

1. Check 511 before you go: Alaska 511 shows crashes, closures and road conditions on the Seward, Glenn and Parks.
2. Pack for a long wait: A crash can close the Seward or the Parks for hours. Keep warm clothes, water and a charged phone in the car.
3. Slow down in work zones: Crews rebuilding the Sterling Highway between Sterling and Soldotna work close to traffic.

What to Do If You’re Injured in an Alaska Car Accident

A crash on the Seward Highway, KGB or Tudor Road can leave you hurt and far from help. What you do in the first hours and days matters.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody seems badly hurt, get police to the scene so there’s an official report, which is what insurers go by.
2. Get checked out. Concussions and internal injuries don’t always show up right away, and cold can mask pain. See a doctor the same day.
3. Document the scene if you can. If it’s safe, photograph the vehicles, plates, skid marks, the road surface and the weather. Get witnesses’ names and numbers, and swap insurance information without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. The other driver’s insurer may call soon after the crash. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report and understand your options.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, missed work and every letter or email from an insurer.

Which agency has your report depends on where you crashed. Outside city limits, including most highway miles between towns, the Alaska State Troopers take the report, while a city with its own police department, like Anchorage, Juneau or Palmer, handles crashes inside its limits. Our Alaska crash report guide explains how to get a copy from each.

Can’t tell which agency responded, or would rather skip the paperwork? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Alaska Crash Hot Spot Questions

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For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in Alaska accident news and our recent accident alerts.