Poll: Most Mat-Su residents favor West Susitna Access road, but many say they hadn’t heard of it

A new survey of Matanuska-Susitna Borough residents show 60 percent in favor of the proposed West Susitna Access Project, a 100-mile access road built into the undeveloped western part of the borough west of the Sustina River.

Twenty nine percent of those polled said they oppose the road, according to the survey results. Friends of West Susitna, a support group, commissioned the poll, which was done by Dittman Research.

Three hundred and thirty four Mat-Su residents were asked about their opinions between Feb. 2 and Feb. 7, said Cindi Herman, who is chair of Friends of West Susitna’s board.

While a majority of those polled favored the road, 60 percent also said they hadn’t heard of it, while 22 percent said they had heard some, Another 11 percent said they had heard some about the road, but “not a lot.” However, seven percent said they had heard, “a lot.”

“Friends of West Susitna commissioned the survey to gain an accurate idea of what Borough residents think about the proposed West Susitna Access Project, a development that would construct a two-lane, 100-mile unpaved road near Wasilla into the West Susitna area,” Friends of West Susitna in an April 10 press release.

“The project would provide public access to fishing, hunting, recreation, agriculture, and resource development, most of which is currently accessible only by small, private aircraft or watercraft.”

It would also improve access to natural resource development in the region. Nova Minerals, an Australian minerals exploration company, is testing two gold deposits near the western terminud of the rosd west of Skewentna.

While 60 percent favored the road in the survey 84 percent favored the state of Alaska investing in infrastructure and economic development projects. The West Susitna road, at this point, is being sponsored by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, the state’s development finance corporation.

The project has become controversial among some Mat-Su residents, however, mainly people who own cabin sites and recreation property along the route of the road. People who own cabins are not happy about the idea of noise, dust and other disturbance from industrial activity like heavy mining trucks carrying ore for shipment from Port MacKenzie, the borough’s cargo dock on Upper Cook Inlet.

However, many Mat-Su residents also like the idea of having new lands opened for sports fishing, hunting and other recreation,

“When it comes to building a road in the West Susitna, Borough residents are clearly supportive,” said Cindi Herman, Friends of West Susitna board chair.

“We know our opponents represent a small but vocal group who want to keep this area off-limits to everyone but themselves. Unlike other opinion surveys, responders to our poll represent a broad cross-section of residents that reflect area demographics,” Herman said

“We suspected our neighbors supported the project, but now we have science-backed data to prove it,” she said.

Many of those in opposition are only slightly opposed, Herman said. “Much of this concern arises from the early nature of the project, where details regarding road use, safety and access for boat launching and other activities have yet to be released. We understand consultation and input on these issues will be included in the Army Corps of Engineers public comment process, which we believe will create even more local support for the road,” Herman said.