Port MacKenzie project continues to have potential

Port MacKenzie, on upper Cook Inlet, has always been a project on the come. There’s lots of potential but progress has been frustratingly slow.

Bad luck, and timing, have played a role.

Also, it’s always been a step-child to the big Port of Alaska in Anchorage, one and a half miles away and on the east side of Knik Arm. The two ports serve different purposes, the one at Anchorage serving major freight vessels that bring in groceries, fuel and other goods, while Port MacKenzie was designed mainly for bulk commodity exports, like wood chips.

Most of those prospects haven’t turned out, at least yet, and the port, which is owned and operated by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, is repositioning itself as a regional facility serving upper Cook Inlet shipping needs that support the Mat-Su region.

And with that, things are now looking better for the port. Design and engineering is now underway, for example, construction of barge ramp of the barge dock at the port that will expand business opportunities mainly with barge operators.

It’s quite likely that this will be enough to erase an operating deficit for the port, where revenues now cover about half of the port’s $500,000 annual expense.

The barge dock supports shallow-draft vessels but the deep-draft facility that extends out 1,200 feet to deeper water, is meanwhile being maintained to serve the occasional large vessel. There was one of these last summer, bringing in cement, and it looks like this customer will call at least once a year, said Dave Griffin, Mat-Su’s port director.

Although it’s original intended uses have yet to pan out, these may yet materialize. The Alaska LNG Project, if it is built someday, will heavy burdens on every port in Southcentral Alaska, but Port MacKenzie will play vital role because of its proximity to the Parks Highway to Interior Alaska.

On a smaller scale, and a possibly more immediate opportunity, would be supporting possible mines now in advanced exploration in the western Mat-Su Borough area. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, the state development finance corporation, is now working on a 100-mile access road to the Yhetna Mining District, where the exploration is happening.

If one or more mines are developed ore will be trucked out to a regional port for ocean shipping, and the logical ore loading port is Port MacKenzie, from where equipment and supplies for the mines could also be transported.

The immediate tasks at hand, however, is a project to strengthen steel piles at the port on the deep-water extension to protect against corrosion as well as making improvements on the barge dock to expand its capabilities, which include a crane and forklifts.

Griffin said an inspection of the deep-water terminal pilings was completed last summer with a report delivered in the fall recommending steel sleeving be installed on 64 piles considered most at-risk. The Mat-Su Borough has a $9.1 million federal grant in hand to fund the work as well as do engineering and design on the barge dock enhancement.

That design work is underway, Griffin said, and the borough expects to get a design at the 35-percent completion point by mid-April. At that point work on permits can begin and there are some issues with marine mammal impacts, particularly beluga whales, that are important.

Construction of the barge dock enhancement and other support equipment needed, such as a 250-ton crane and forklifts, must still be funded but the borough is applying for a federal grant from the U.S. Maritime Administration’s port enhancement program to do this. Up to $11 million is available thrpugh the federa;mPort Infrastructure Development Program.

If the grant is approved, construction to enhance the barge dock capability could be underwat in 2024 and completed in 2025, Griffin said.

The enhancement itself, sometimes referred to as “roll on/roll off ramp” because it was ease unloading and loading, will basically result in a larger barge dock that is 150 feet wide by 300 feet long.

A lot of opportunites will open up once the port’s capabilities are improved. Not only will its use be more flexible for barge operators, resulting in increased use, but owners of small to medium-size vessels will be able to do haul-outs for maitenance and repair.

There are also boat builders in the Mat-Su region who will be able to use the facility instead of hauling newly-built boats to Seward or other regional ports. In that was, an improved Port MacKenzie can stimulate local manufacturing in the Mat-So region.

“Our port is strategically placed to meet growth in the region as well as help provide a backup for the Port of Alaska is an emergency,” Griffin said. The borough also owns 10,000 acres of land in the immediate vicinity and the port itself is also connected to the regional power grid which is important for any developer.