Into the West: The promise and process of the Ambler Access Project and West Susitna Access Road.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: TRANSPORTATION

Unchanged for almost thirty years, Alaska's highway system has seen no new long-distance roads added to the network since the Dalton Highway was opened to the public in 1994. Even then, the haul road had been completed for more than sixteen years, with no new major highways added to the roster. The westernmost extent on Alaska's (and North America's) connected road system remains the bend in the Sterling Highway at Anchor Point. However, two ambitious road projects would claim the title if either of them succeeds in pushing farther west.

The proposed Ambler Access Road and West Susitna Access Road would make their areas more easily accessible for resource development, outdoor recreation, and other purposes. If constructed, the roads would generate well-paying jobs, economic growth for the state, and other opportunities for Alaskans--but they face some challenges and opposition.

The state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) is leading efforts to develop the Ambler Access Project (AAP) and West Susitna Access Road (WSAR). The AAP is a proposed 211-mile industrial access road from Milepost 161 on the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District in the southern Brooks Range foothills east of Kotzebue, an area rich with zinc, copper, and other elements.

The Ambler Road also would allow controlled access for approved commercial uses, but public access would not be permitted. As AIDEA's Ambleraccess.org website puts it, "While commercial transport of goods and services is not a primary purpose, it may be possible under the same rules of the road as mine users. Personal use such as hunting, fishing, and small-scale mining is prohibited. If it is built, this will not be a state road and will not be open to the general public."

With the WSAR project, AIDEA and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough would build an all-season road and bridge up to and over the Little Susitna River. The intended road would stretch about 100 miles from the west end of the Ayrshire Road snowmachine trailhead to the confluence of Portage Creek and the Skwentna River, tapping resources in the Fish Creek Natural Resource Management Unit. Currently, there is only limited winter access to the area.

Both road projects continue winding their way through the preliminary stages of development.

Ambling Toward Metals

AIDEA undertook AAP with the goal of forming a public/private partnership to finance, construct, operate, and maintain the road. Earlier this year...