page_title: Seward Highway
section_title: Girdwood to Anchorage
hierarchical_section_title: Seward Highway / Route description / Girdwood to Anchorage
caption_attribution_description: English: The Seward Highway, with Turnagain Arm to the right.
context_page_description: The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 125 miles from Seward to Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm, and Kenai Mountains. The Seward Highway is numbered Alaska Route 9 for the first 37 miles from Seward to the Sterling Highway and AK-1 for the remaining distance to Anchorage. At the junction with the Sterling Highway, AK-1 turns west towards Sterling and Homer. About eight miles of the Seward Highway leading into Anchorage is built to freeway standards. In Anchorage, the Seward Highway terminates at an intersection with 5th Avenue, which AK-1 is routed to, and which then leads to the Glenn Highway freeway.
context_section_description: After the highway exits the National Forest, it continues for about 5 miles (8.0 km) through pine forest, before passing through the community of Girdwood. After about a mile, the highway enters Chugach State Park. The road continues through forest for about 10 miles (16 km) more, before passing the small skiing village of Bird. The route reenters the park for about a mile, before entering the village of Indian, and then reentering the forest. The Seward Highway passes along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska for about 12 miles (19 km), with the Kenai Mountains running along the northern side. The highway then proceeds to enter the central part of Anchorage. The highway intersects Old Seward Highway, before becoming a four-lane freeway. The freeway's first exit is, in fact, for Old Seward Highway. The freeway continues past several neighborhoods, a plant nursery, and Rabbit Creek Elementary School.
  At an exit for De Armoun Road, the highway's frontage road begins. The freeway continues past dozens of neighborhoods, a few small businesses, and provides exits for a few small roads, including the Minnesota Drive Expressway. After the exit for Abbott Road, part of the frontage road terminates. The route then passes through a more commercial area of Anchorage, passing several warehouses. At the freeway's final exit, for Tudor Road, the rest of the frontage roads either begin or terminate. The freeway ends at the highway's intersection with East 36th Avenue. About a half a mile (1 km) later, the highway splits into Ingra Street (northbound), and Gambell Street (southbound). The Seward Highway officially reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with 5th Avenue. AK-1 continues on for a short period as 5th Avenue, before becoming known as the Glenn Highway.
caption: Seward Highway (left) looking southbound along the Turnagain Arm stretch
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