Anchorage Mushing District arch could be up as soon as this summer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - After around a decade of work, the Anchorage Mushing District aims to have its arch up by the summer of 2025.

“Our agreement with the city basically requires us to have the arch completed by January of 2026. Which means, we have to get it done this next year,” James Huettl, the president of the Anchorage Mushing District, said. “Once that arch gets up there, I think then people will realize that it’s for real.”

Huettl said, construction is expected to start around the end of May and will take an estimated four months to be completed. So far, the district has done underground electrical work and has expanded the sidewalks to accommodate the arch being placed.

“We won’t have to do much disruption of the site,” Huettl said. “Most of it will be built off-site someplace, in a steel fabrication yard. And then will be hauled into place and set there with a crane.”

The total cost is expected to be $600,000. As of December, the district has raised $250,000 already.

One of the ways the district has been raising money for the arch is by selling bronze disks to be placed on the sidewalk along 4th Avenue.

“They were buying these 5-inch bronze disks which is the imprint of a dog paw, and you can engrave your name,” Huettl said. “Some people buy them for their parents, for their children, they buy them for their dogs.”

Huettl said his team hopes the arch will help revitalize downtown and bring in more tourists.

“I love our downtown and I just think that this can be a big step in revitalizing it,” Huettl said. “I think the tourists will love it. As well as the local citizens, and you know, the more people get downtown, the better it is for the local businesses.”

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