Port to get deeper dock

PORT MacKENZIE -- Eleven miles of 30-foot right of way has been cleared to Port MacKenzie, with electrical, telephone and cable lines soon to follow. Although out of the sight of many Valley residents, work at Port MacKenzie rarely slows its steady pace.

"We've got a lot of stuff going on," said Borough Manager John Duffy.

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly, earlier this month, awarded $225,750 to Peratrovich, Nottingham and Drage, Inc. to design and engineer a deep-draft dock at the port. The design is expected to be complete by mid-October and will include preliminary drilling and geotechnical investigation, mapping and electrical design, in addition to the dock design.

In January, the assembly accepted more than $7.2 million from the state through a Senate appropriation for port development and associated improvements to the local rail system. Of that money, $4.5 million was budgeted for design and construction of the deep-draft dock facility.

Port Director Marc Van Dongen said he hopes to see the deep-water facility on line by next fall. And with good reason -- NPI, LLC has agreed to use the dock for their wood-chipping facility, but needs the extra room for larger ships.

"Chip vessels require a substantial amount of draft," said Terry Nininger, project manager for NPI. "[Vessels are generally] 650 feet long, 150 feet wide and draw up to 34 feet of water."

The existing dock, at low tide, is approximately 20 feet deep, Van Dongen said. The deep-water facility would be around 50-feet deep at low tide -- with the potential to dredge deeper.

"We could go easily go down another 10 feet if we need to," Van Dongen said. "All that would be determined when the designer gets its preliminary engineering finished."

Nininger said NPI has been in a holding pattern for the past eight months waiting to hear word that the deep-draft dock would become a reality. Wednesday, Nininger said, he was on hand to celebrate when Dennis Nottingham signed papers signifying the beginning of the design phase.

"It was a very exciting moment for all of us," Nininger said. He said the company has already invested about $800,000 at the port, with more work to be done before they are ready to ship wood chips.

NPI does selective logging of primarily private land around the Valley. Running what Nininger calls a very clean operation, they choose their trees carefully and leave little behind in the way of branches and rubbish. Chips from white spruce trees, he said, are typically used to make high-grade paper and newsprint. Chips from birch and aspen are used to make craft-quality, construction-grade paper. The end-product, Nininger said, is shipped to major Japanese paper producers.

Once the contract for construction of the deep-water dock is signed, Nininger said his company can likely be ready to go within five months. The company must construct a conveyor belt to carry chips from their storage area to the dock, for instant off-loading onto ships.

After more than a year and a half of waiting, Nininger said he's looking forward to seeing the project move to the next phase. He commended Duffy and Assistant Borough Manager David Germer for their diligence, and remains confident that Port MacKenzie is the best fit for NPI's facility.

"We've had our eyes on Port MacKenzie for years," Nininger said. "The Port of Anchorage, I think, is an excellent facility … but from an industrial perspective, we need an industrial site that is dedicated primarily to that purpose."

As work progresses on the deep-draft dock, several other projects are moving along. Vibracompaction of the dock to meet the stability standards set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is set to begin soon, with the contract set to reach the assembly at its Aug. 20 deadline.

Paralleling the progression of the deep-draft dock, work is moving along on the ferry system that will provide alternative shipping and transportation access across Cook Inlet to Anchorage.

A feasibility study will be before the assembly on Aug. 6, with a bid by Tryck, Nyman and Hayes suggested for approval.

"Pending the outcome on this, we'll determine whether we move forward on construction of the ferry line," Van Dongen said.

If the feasibility study shows the ferry to be a worthwhile venture, Van Dongen said construction of the ferry terminals could begin in the fall of 2003. Also scheduled for the 2003 construction season is a significant paving project -- that of the last 15 unpaved miles of Port MacKenzie Road.

Money for the paving project, Duffy said, will come from a $10 million appropriation secured by Sen. Lyda Green, R-Mat-Su, during last year's legislative session. The funding was earmarked for the pavement project and work on the deep-draft dock.

By next fall, Van Dongen is hoping to cross off his checklist the four things he has long called keys to development at Port MacKenzie -- utilities, a paved road, a deep-draft dock and a ferry. With those things in place, Van Dongen is confident the hardest part of his job will be over.

"Once we make those four things happen, I don't think I'll have to do any marketing out there," Van Dongen said. "They'll all be lining up in the hall here."