Port MacKenzie development: a regional improvement; the port and surrounding area will provide easy access for low-cost commercial development, residential expansion and recreational opportunities.

• Author: Dongen, Marc Van

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is making significant progress in the development of Port MacKenzie. Initial construction of a 1.2-mile access road and an 850-foot by 500foot gravel dock was completed in August 2000. The dock was officially opened for limited shipments in May2001, pending completion of a Corps of Engineers study and the final vibracompaction and gravel cap on the dock. Once the compaction is completed, the dock will be certified for its maximum loads of 1,000 pounds per square foot and will be able to withstand major earthquakes without suffering major damage. The final compaction is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2003.

Port developers continue to focus on their four main goals: to install utilities, construct a deep-draft dock, pave the last 14 miles of the Point MacKenzie Road, and have a year-round ferry operating between Anchorage and Port MacKenzie. Significant progress has been made in all four areas.

They have awarded over $4 million in contracts this year to complete projects such as clearing 11 miles of right-of-way for utilities, extending three-phase electrical lines and telephone/fax/Internet to the port, designing a deep-draft dock, designing ferry landings, terminal buildings and parking areas on both sides of Upper Cook Inlet, mapping the port district, and testing for gravel sources.

Additionally, they have awarded contracts to complete several important studies such as a Feasibility Study (Trych, Nyman & Hayes) and Environmental Assessment (HDR Alaska) for the ferry system, a Commodities Study (Cornell Group) and a Rail Corridor Study (Trych, Nyman & Hayes).

In 2003, developers plan to complete $11.7 million in construction projects to include the deep-draft dock, upgrading and paving the Point MacKenzie Road, and completing the vibracompaction and gravel cap on the dock. In 2004, they hope to construct the ferry landings, terminal buildings, and parking lots on both sides at an estimated $10 million in construction costs.

Funding to complete these projects has already been appropriated or has been requested by Sen. Ted Stevens in the FY03 Federal Transportation Appropriations Bill. The initial funding for the access road and present dock flowed through the Federal Highway Administration. Additional funding has been approved through the Federal Transit Administration and the State of Alaska. In July 2002, Sen. Lyda Green secured $10 million in a state bond package that will enable the borough to...