South Denali Visitors Center set to begin construction

MAT-SU — The South Denali Visitor’s Center took a $7 million step forward when the Legislature included the funding for the project in its latest capital budget.

A plan has moved forward — slowly — during the last 40 years to some day construct a visitors center on the south side of Denali National Park. This visitors center would be a state park facility developed in partnership with the Mat-Su Borough and National Parks Service and located outside the park boundary.

“This will be a one-of-a-kind facility for Alaska State Parks. The National Park Service is a partner in this project and have been instrumental in sharing their experiences with like facility that they own, especially Denali National Park and Preserve,” Alaska State Parks Director Ben Ellis said in an email interview.

To understand where those millions from the state will go, here’s a brief overview of the plan for the facility.

Essentially, the idea is to lay it out in two tiers. The first will be close to the Parks Highway between Miles 134 and 135. The second will be on top of a ridge with sweeping views of the mountain. But, so far at least, all the work done has been surveying and data collection. The latest appropriation includes some actual construction.

All of the construction will be in the lower tier. Ellis said the plan is to build a walk-in campground, a caretaker cabin and some trails.

But the money won’t ignore the upper tier. Ellis said some of it will pay for design of that facility.

“The upper tier consists of a 15,000- to 16,000-square-foot visitor center at the top of the ridge surrounded by a network of interpretive trails. A 3.5-mile access road will connect the lower tier development with the upper,” Ellis wrote.

Exactly how to transport people between the two is still open for debate, he said. Plans in the past have seemed to suggest a shuttle bus might be in order.

“The visitor center will contain interpretive media highlighting local natural sciences, as well as stories and history of the area,” he said. “Outside the visitor center will be some interpretive trails for long and short distance hikes.”

According to the project’s website, an economic assessment conducted in 2008 by the University of Alaska’s Institute for Social and Economic Impacts estimates $6.8 million to $12.4 million per year flowing into the economy during construction of a facility over a two- to three-year period.

“Ongoing visitor center-related employment income, including additional hotel facilities, etc., will range from $7.6 million,” according to the website. “Tourism expenditures stimulated by the existence of the visitor center will range from $17.8 million to $44.8 million per year.”

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