Dam port bridge: special projects take 'one step at a time'.

• Author: Swann, Kirsten
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

Three major construction projects, poised to change the landscape of commercial transportation and renewable energy in Southcentral Alaska, are making slow but steady progress in the face of uncertain success.

The Port of Anchorage modernization, the Knik Arm Crossing, and the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric projects collectively involve billions of dollars in capital investments and thousands of new jobs. When complete, the projects are set to increase efficiency and longevity at Alaska's largest port, connect one of the fastest-growing areas in the state with the Municipality of Anchorage, and provide valuable, reliable hydroelectric power to the Railbelt region.

But the three massive projects also involve years of development, exhaustive permitting, and licensing processes and other hurdles that are set to push construction well into the future.

Project managers believe the long-term reward is worth the work.

Knik Arm Crossing

Shannon McCarthy, a spokeswoman for Alaska's Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, says the proposed toll bridge over the Knik Arm is the largest project the department has taken on in years.

"The last project of this magnitude that Alaska built was actually the Parks Highway," McCarthy says.

The Knik Arm Crossing would connect Anchorage with rapidly growing populations in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, spanning 1.74 miles across the Knik Arm, according to project documents. It could help alleviate traffic on the Glenn Highway, which saw a 32 percent increase in average daily traffic past the Eklutna Overpass between 2000 and 2010.

Previously under the purview of the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA), the project was transferred to the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) by the Alaska Legislature near the end of the 2013-14 legislative session. The state transportation department will oversee the development and construction of the state-owned bridge, McCarthy says, and then hand operations to KABATA once the project is complete. That transfer is still years from happening.

When the transportation department took control of the project in spring 2014, McCarthy says, it began the process of reexamining project plans and documentation to make sure everything is in place for the next stage--applying for a federal loan through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA).

The success of the Knik Arm Crossing construction hinges on that TIFIA loan: According to a joint KABATA-DOT&PF funding proposal from March 2014, the project is banking on more than $341 million in TIFIA funding, which would ultimately be repaid through bridge toll revenues. The total projected cost of the bridge development comes in at just under $900 million--a mix of federal funds, state capital money, and bonds--according to project documents provided by the Alaska Legislature.

Before DOT&PF moves forward with its application for the integral TIFIA loan, McCarthy says it's making sure it's crossed every T and dotted every I.

"The project development process has been fairly intensive over the past ten years," McCarthy says. "Now is a good time to reexamine everything; make sure it's in the shape you want it to be in moving forward."

There are decades of work at stake. The Knik Arm bridge concept was first conceived by railroad engineers in the 1920s, according to DOT&PF, and the Alaska Department of...