Mat-Su prioritizes Shaw Elementary roads before the 2026 school start

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is prioritizing new traffic-circulation roads around Shaw Elementary ahead of the late-August 2026 school start, but the roads are not expected to open until after paving, likely in September.

The work is expected to affect how families, school buses, pedestrians and commuters move around the Wasilla-area school as construction progresses. The immediate priority is the circulation-road work near the campus; the larger connection to Wasilla Fishhook Road is on a later timeline.

Road opening depends on paving

A North Lakes Community Council update said the new roads around Shaw Elementary are the current priority before school starts in late August. It also said paving must be completed before the roads can open and placed the likely opening in September 2026.

The update did not provide a specific September opening date. That leaves the timing dependent on the paving work and any related construction activity. The available information also does not establish that all work in the surrounding area will be complete before classes resume.

As the project advances, people using the school area may see changed traffic circulation, construction activity or temporary route adjustments. The work is connected to safety concerns involving loaded gravel trucks departing the nearby CGP site. Those concerns are part of the reason the circulation roads have been prioritized, but the project update does not say that the truck-related issue has been resolved.

Open house and longer-term connection

The Mat-Su Borough scheduled a construction open house for May 27, 2026, at Shaw Elementary. The event provided a public opportunity for information about the road work and traffic changes near the school.

The planned Wasilla Fishhook Road intersection is expected in 2027. That means the road work prioritized for the 2026 school start will not deliver the full future connection at the same time as the initial circulation roads.

For the coming school year, the practical change is the staged opening of roads intended to improve movement around Shaw Elementary. Families dropping off or picking up students, school buses, pedestrians and other drivers should expect the area’s traffic pattern to evolve as paving and the next phase of the project proceed.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is the relevant government entity for the regional road work affecting the Wasilla area. The next key milestone identified publicly is completion of paving and the likely September opening, followed by the expected 2027 Wasilla Fishhook Road intersection.