Knik Arm Bridge will save Mat-Su commuters hours on the road: while most people are happy about the proposed bridge, there are still concerns about logistics.

• Author: Martin, Gary L.

It is not a bridge over troubled waters, as the proposed Knik Arm Bridge, when it comes to fruition, will make many people happy; Still, it is unwanted by some.

The project will connect the Port of Anchorage to the Mat-Su Point Mackenzie dock, thus joining the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

This is not a new idea; in 1955 the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce first commissioned a study that recommended a causeway be built between the two locations. Again in 1972 there was a second study facilitated by the Alaska Department of Highways, and in 1984 the U.S. Federal Highway Administration prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) analyzing five alternatives, recommending a bridge crossing upstream of Cairn Point.

Finally in 2003, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities did an update of the 1984 DEIS cost estimate and recommended the construction of a bridge.

Also last year the state Legislature created KABATA. It is the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority, a public corporation of the State of Alaska. KABATA has the authority to receive and disburse money for the purpose of constructing, owning, operating and maintaining the bridge. Former Anchorage Mayor George P. Wuerch is the bridge authority's chairman, and his executive director is Henry Springer.

Springer said the Alaska congressional delegation and the governor agree that the Knik Arm crossing is among their top priorities for the state. The three-mile-long causeway will not just provide connectivity for the ports of Anchorage and Mackenzie, it is critical for the area economy and will greatly increasing the capacity of both ports to meet future needs.

It also will cut the driving time between communities from about two hours to only a few minutes. And one of the major benefits with a bridge, according to Springer, is it will open the Mat-Su Valley for the construction of homes, the much-needed asset to resolve a problem of disappearing land for residential dwellings in Anchorage.

As for Alaska's military complex, the Knik Arm Bridge will provide redundant embarkation and debarkation facilities for deployments, especially for the Army's new Stryker Brigade.

Although the total cost of the bridge is estimated to be between $400 million to $750 million, currently KABATA has funding for the first phase, according to Springer. He said, "At this time we have about $18 million; it will carry us through our first step, which is the...