Johansen Expressway extends 4.19 miles east from Geist Road to SR 2 (Steese Expressway) across the north side of Fairbanks. Geist Road is a four lane boulevard connecting with SR 3 (Parks Highway) and Chena Ridge Road, 1.73 miles west from Johansen Expressway.
Johansen Expressway is a controlled access highway with single point interchanges at Exit 2 / Peger Road and Exit 4 / College Road. Exit 3 B is the intersection with Danby Street westbound preceding the ramp (Exit 3 A) to Aurora Drive. The easternmost stretch is an at-grade arterial serving a commercial strip anchored by several big box retail stores. Johansen Expressway is the only road in Alaska with exit numbers.
Roadway stubs and an unused overpass over the westbound roadway at mile marker 4 is a remnant from a 1980s plan to widen Illinois Street to six lanes and extend Minnie Street west to the Johansen Expressway. The extension was not built due to the discovery of contaminated soil at a rail yard along the proposed alignment. Development patterns in Fairbanks eventually shifted, decreasing usage along Illinois Street so much that after a 2002 traffic study, the state abandoned the plans for the six lane expansion.1 The unused overpass forms a stub for the Johansen Expressway bike trail, which lines the northern side of the Johansen Expressway.
$81 million in construction replaces the signalized intersection joining Johansen Expressway and Steese Highway with a diverging diamond interchange. Work is slated to begin in 2024, with major construction underway in 2025 and 2026. The project was approved by the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly by May 2, 2023.1
Chena Pump Road - East
Chena Pump Road is an arterial route angling 4.60 miles northeast from Chena Ridge Road in the community of Chena to become Geist Road at SR 3 (Parks Highway).
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Chena Pump Road/Geist Road meet SR 3 (Parks Highway/Mitchell Expressway) at a modified diamond interchange.
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Geist Road - East
Geist Road heads east from SR 3 (Mitchell Expressway) to Thompson Drive north for the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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Loftus Road extends 0.39 miles south from Thompson Drive and Geist Road to Birch Lane.
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The succeeding traffic light on Geist Road is at Fairbanks Street. Fairbanks Street north formerly linked with Tanana Loop at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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A wooden pedestrian bridge spans Geist Road by Rebecca Street.
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University Avenue intersects Geist Road south from the College community and north from air cargo facilities at Fairbanks International Airport (FAI).
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Johansen Expressway - East
Johansen Expressway commences east from Geist Road at University Avenue.
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Johansen Expressway east next spans Noyes Slough.
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Exit 2 follows with Peger Road south of Deere Street and the Alaska Railroad yard.
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Peger Road stems 3.41 miles south from adjacent Deere Street and the SPUI with Johansen Expressway to the levee road along the Chena River.
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Shifting northward, Johansen Expressway spans the Alaska Railroad Fairbanks Yard.
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Milepost 3 is located on the elevated roadway across the Alaska Railroad.
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Numbered Exit 3 B along westbound, Johansen Expressway eastbound next intersects Danby Street and Alaska Railroad Depot Road.
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Roadway stubs appear within the median for the cancelled extension of Minnie Street west to Johansen Expressway.
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The roadways along Johansen Expressway diverge along what would have been ramps for Minnie Street.
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College Road converges with Johansen Expressway at a SPUI (Exit 4).
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The unused bridge spanning Johansen Expressway westbound at mile marker 4.
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College Road is a four lane boulevard leading back west to College and southeast along a retail corridor to SR 2 (Steese Highway).
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A smaller roadway stub appears within the median of Johansen Expressway at the east end of the cancelled interchange with Minnie Street.
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Johansen Street transitions into a controlled access arterial east ahead of the signal at Hunter Street.
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Old Steese Highway ties into Johansen Expressway at the traffic light preceding SR 2 (Steese Highway).
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Johansen Expressway - West
Leading away from SR 2 (Steese Highway), Johansen Expressway runs just north of several big box stores and other retail.
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Northside Boulevard links with Harold Bentley Avenue, a parallel service road. Old Steese Highway heads southwest to Wendell Avenue and the Fairbanks city center.
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Hunter Street is a short connector north to Harold Bentley Avenue and south to Merhar Avenue.
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Johansen Expressway advances west from Hunter Road to a SPUI (Exit 4) with College Road.
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Continuing past Noyes Slough, the roadways of Johansen Expressway diverge at a short roadway stub.
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Overheads for the intersection with Danby Street / Exit 3 B and the ramp for Aurora Drive / Exit 3 A appear at the unused overpass for a multi use trail.
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The wide median east of Danby Street was designed to accommodate the Johansen Expressway mainline through what would have been a diamond interchange with an extension of Minnie Street.
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Alaska Railroad Depot Road ties into the signalized intersection with Danby Street from the Fairbanks Yard to the south.
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Danby Street leads 0.76 miles north from Exit 3 B to College Road.
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Exit 3 A follows Danby Street to Hanson Road west at Aurora Drive in an industrial area north of the Johansen Expressway.
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Johansen Expressway elevates over the Alaska Railroad yard west ahead of the SPUI (Exit 2) with Peger Road.
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Peger Road is a four lane boulevard leading south from adjacent Deere Street to SR 3 (Parks Highway).
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Milepost 2 for Johansen Expressway precedes the second crossing over Noyes Slough. There is no milepost 1.
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Johansen Expressway ends west at the intersection with University Avenue. University Avenue south to Airport Way was once part of SR 3.
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Geist Road - West
The expressway transitions into Geist Road, a four to five lane boulevard leading west from University Avenue to SR 3 (Parks Highway).
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The Geist Road pedestrian bridge at Rebecca Street serves West Valley High School and the Hutchinson Institute of Technology.
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Thompson Drive south from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Loftus Road north come together at the succeeding traffic light on Geist Road west.
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Geist Road meets SR 3 (Parks Highway/Mitchell Expressway) at a modified diamond interchange.
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SR 3 (Parks Highway) heads west from Fairbanks to the suburb of Ester en route to Nenana and Denali National Park.
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SR 3 along Mitchell Expressway angles southeast to Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) and South Van Horn. Geist Road becomes Chena Pump Road southwest to Chena.
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Johansen Expressway / Geist Road - scenes
Loftus Road north at Geist Road and Thompson Drive.
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University Avenue north at Geist Road west and Johansen Expressway east.
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College Road north at Johansen Expressway.
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Page Updated Thursday June 15, 2023.
