Downhill slide

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough says the focus of its plan to put together a recreation spot in Hatcher Pass is shifting, for now at least, to focus on cross-country rather than downhill skiing.

“We’re focusing on the south side, so we can get a road and transit facilities built and let people go skiing,” Manager John Duffy told the borough assembly at its Tuesday meeting.

Steven Noble from DOWL Engineers presented that night what his company has done so far on the project. He said public input has by-and-large been encouraging.

“I’ve never had a project that has 100 percent support, but this project comes pretty close,” he said. “The vast majority of what we heard was positive. Get it done. Get it done sooner.”

So far, the borough has $5.9 million in mostly Federal Transit Administration funds to work on the project. Since it’s coming from the FTA, the project has a public transportation component. The borough’s MASCOT buses will be able to access the planned parking area and there will be a transit hub there with shelters for bus riders.

A little over $2.9 million of that money was set aside to draft an environmental impact statement and work through the permitting process. DOWL won the bid to do the impact statement.

What’s left over, Duffy said at the meeting, will likely be enough to construct what the project managers are calling the project’s Southern Area.

The project envisions a road coming up from Edgerton Parks Road and ending in a parking area for access to cross-country ski trails in the area. There are proposals for a day lodge and a stadium area — a place to watch cross-country skiing competitions.

The proposed access road crosses a couple of streams and runs for about a mile, Noble said. The assembly asked him about those wetlands.

“We are trying to avoid much of the wetlands,” Noble said. “There’ll be some stream crossings but, in general, it will be fairly dry.”

The plan, according to Noble’s presentation, is to have the environmental impact statement ready by November or December of this year, with construction starting the following summer.

As for the Northern Area —the downhill skiing area — the environmental impact statement covers that area, but the borough doesn’t have the money to build it quite yet.

According to Noble’s presentation, the access road for that area will come off of Palmer-Fishhook Road. The ski area will be south of the Motherlode Lodge. That ski area would also have a day lodge with concessions stands, equipment rental and ski instructors.

There is an access road already in place, but the existing road is too steep for buses.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.