Knik Arm bridge mulled

April 15, 2005

DAWN De BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Valley residents who attended a public involvement get-together about the Knik Arm crossing earlier this week worried that the bridge would increase traffic into west Wasilla, stressing roads, emergency services, schools, wildlife and other natural resources and siphon away money Mat-Su receives from property taxes.

"The day the bridge goes across, the borough will go bankrupt. It will all fall on the homeowners' shoulders to support extra services," said William Bruu, vice president of the Mat-Su Borough platting board. The borough relies on property taxes to generate funding for area services, Bruu explained.

Other participants viewed the bridge as a way

of creating a more

stable economic base by increasing the value of the land and opportunities for development.

"The cost of the bridge should be borne by the land. Once the bridge is built, the value of the land at Point MacKenzie will go up. At a land auction, (Point MacKenzie parcels will sell at prices) higher than Mount McKinley," said Anchorage resident Dave Ring, who, like other people, spoke before an audience that filled the conference room at Wasilla's Multi-Use Sports Complex.

The event, part of the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority's community information-sharing process, drew twice as many people as the public involvement team expected. Staff members scrambled to set up more chairs as the time for public comment approached.

Supporters of the bridge emphasized the importance of other entities in improving road systems that will connect to the bridge, which could be constructed by 2010.

"They need to upgrade Burma Road that ties into Big Lake - that's one route. There's a permanent corridor east of Big Susitna River and goes up to Houston. That route was identified in the early '80s," Big Lake resident Paul DuClos said.

DuClos said a road from Point MacKenzie to Houston would reroute Fairbanks-bound truck traffic that would otherwise travel through Wasilla or Big Lake.

"It's going to be a big milestone, this bridge," DuClos said. "We need to make sure that corridor is finished by the time the bridge is finished."

Road connectivity has been a recurring theme: People wanted to know exactly where the road will tie in on both the Valley and Anchorage sides, as well as what wear and tear will be placed on Knik-Goose Bay Road, which, some residents say, already needs work.

Darryl Jordan, KABATA's executive director, says the authority will be funded only for the construction of the bridge and its east and west approaches.

KABATA is not responsible for improvements on the outlying roads. That responsibility falls under the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities' jurisdiction.

Impact studies should pinpoint transportation problems from traffic predictions, Jordan said.

"Don't kid yourself, it's going to be paved. It's going to grow into a city when you build the bridge," Gabe Scott of Cordova said.

When organizers asked the audience for a raise of hands to show support, about 75 percent of the participants signified that they like the project.

"This is the largest overwater project in Alaska," said Don Jean, business manager for Knikatnu Inc. "We have a reciprocal relationship: We'll support you, but respect our land. We don't want to see the degradation of tribal lands or historical sites."

Although Fort Richardson, which would be close to the proposed crossing, stands to feel the effects of the bridge, a military representative indicated they were open-minded about the project.

"There is no alternative that's off the table. We are cooperative with this study. We want to be good partners," said Col. Joe Torres, a spokesman for the Alaskan Command.

At a U.S. Senate Transportation Committee hearing in February, Jordan said a suspension bridge would not be considered because such a design would interfere with military airspace.

Some residents have been waiting for the right time to support the project.

"We've been living in this country for 45 years and we've been waiting for this to happen. This crossing has been needed for quite some time," Big Lake resident Robert Alvord said. "Twenty-five years ago, a set of brothers surveyed the land for a bridge, but like everything in Alaska, it takes a couple of generations for anything to germinate."

Although the concept of the bridge has been evolving for decades, KABATA aims to complete the environmental impact study and design process in 18 months. Construction could take two or three years.

Participants at the meeting asked themselves how a bridge would affect the future: What will happen to the land values? How and where will development occur? Who will enforce management of nearby state-owned parcels and Native corporation lands? Will wildlife feel the strain of increased traffic at Point MacKenzie?

John McPherson, with Henningson Durham Richardson, Alaska Inc., an engineering firm based in Anchorage, headed the information station on economics, land use and transportation flow.

McPherson will be making predictions to determine the demographic profile of people who might move into the area.

HDR conducted a household survey of Anchorage and Valley residents via phone to determine what kinds of living situations most interested people. For example, would someone prefer to buy a five-acre lot or would they be comfortable living in four-plexes or a half-acre lot at Point MacKenzie.

"We are trying to gauge how far people are willing to commute past the bridge," McPherson said. "If growth was projected high enough, pressure might be put on the state to change the covenants on the agricultural land at Point MacKenzie."

"There will an enormous cost that the land and wildlife will pay," Gabe Scott said, adding that when the area becomes more accessible, the moose people enjoy watching or hunting for food will be depleted by more accessible hunting as well as getting hit by vehicles.

People interested in sharing their ideas with KABATA may visit www.knikarm.com.'s public-comment section. All computer-generated comments will become part of the project's environmental impact statement.