Point Mac rail project to resume in the summer

PALMER - The state and Mat-Su Borough are moving ahead with construction of the next phase of a rail extension to Point MacKenzie.

Last month, the borough received bids to build the first five miles of the extension starting from the Point MacKenzie end.

"The low bidder was Bristol Construction at I think right at $17 million," project manager Joe Perkins told the borough assembly Tuesday.

The assembly also spent some time talking about how much the overall project will cost, with estimates ranging from $220 million to $300 million. Perkins said the numbers should stop fluctuating now that the borough knows which route the rail will take.

"We didn't really have an estimated cost for this route because we didn't know which route we were going on," Perkins said.

The railroad, in an open house Wednesday night, estimated it needs $180 million more from the state. The project took up seven of the many poster-sized placards placed around the room and the bulk of the attention at the meeting.

The borough has already constructed the loop for trains to turn around at the port. Construction there and the five miles about to begin are just the embankment. The tracks don't come in until the end.

Borough manager John Moosey said he needs the assembly to weigh in on how much of the state grants the borough should use for administrative costs.

"It's my understanding that there is a resolution or ordinance that is requiring to take 5 percent of grants for administration," Moosey told the assembly. "When we bid $110 million with the project that is quite a large sum."

He said he thinks that money might be better spent on the project rather than on overhead.

"We're covered administratively right now, but this really needs, I think, for full public disclosure, to be weighed in on by the assembly," Moosey said.

Meanwhile, the borough and railroad haven't quite finished the project's design.

"We've got quite a bit of it designed. We're probably sitting about 60 percent of it designed right now. The final design will be released this summer," Perkins said.

The borough expects to put two more segments out to bid next month and says it has all but one of its permits in place. It's also looking into what to do about potential interference with the Iditarod Trail and Iron Dog race route.

Documents on the project website indicate there will need to be eight bridges on the route over various bodies of water, including the Little Susitna River.

The borough and the railroad tout the project as a means to launch the borough's port facilities at Point MacKenzie and a way to make resource development in the state's Interior economically feasible.

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