Population growth heading toward Knik

MAT-SU — Construction on a new prison, residential and commercial growth continues to pressure the Knik-Goose Bay Road corridor.

Although a sagging national economy has affected growth in the Mat-Su, Alaska’s fastest growing area is still expanding, challenging borough officials to provide infrastructure for current and future residents.

“We’re still growing, especially there,” said District 5 Assemblywoman Cindy Bettine, who represents the area. “Here’s an example. In late 2006 or so, we opened another elementary school there because Knik Elementary was the most overcrowded elementary school in the borough. So, we built a second next to it. And now guess where the two most overpopulated schools in the borough are? They’re already at capacity.”

School attendance is a strong indicator for residential growth, but one of the main concerns for borough officials is the increasing pressure that growth places on roads — especially Knik-Goose Bay Road.

“I think, obviously, traffic is the absolute biggest issue, and it’s not only on the state highway,” Bettine said. “That road had an upgrade in, like, 2003 or 2004, and many of the people who live out there are somewhat disappointed there weren’t more turnouts.”

With construction under way on a new prison at Point MacKenzie, traffic congestion that had been relegated mainly to peak hours like the morning and afternoon rush will be almost constant, Bettine said.

“Unlike the Parks Highway that is always busy 24/7, KGB has its peaks,” she said. “Morning traffic, evening traffic, weekend traffic is phenomenal. I think with the prison, which is creating 600 jobs, I think it’s going to be an all-day thing.”

Another with an eye on growth along the Knik-Goose Bay Road corridor is Chuck Spinelli, owner of Spinell Homes. Spinell is heavily invested in the area with residential subdivisions and commercial properties, including a recently opened gas station.

“Right now, the (housing) market is pretty bad, but generally, we’re looking for it to continue to be steady and above average growth,” he said. “I’ve got a couple hundred acres around Settler’s Bay and just opened a gas station out there. It’s only been open a week, but it’s doing really well.”

At the intersection of Knik-Goose Bay Road and Settler’s Bay Road, Spinell homes counted about 5,000 cars a day going through a couple years ago, Spinelli said. Now, he said, that’s close to 8,000 to 9,000 a day. One of the answers to keeping up with growth is to expand Knik-Goose Bay Road from two to four lanes, Bettine said. That may not be in the near future, however.

“I get a lot of questions and complaints about the state road,” she said. “We need four lanes. It’s got the traffic count for four lanes.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.