State studies access west of Su River

MAT-SU — There’s a lot of natural resources west of the Susitna River, but it’s going to take plenty of financial resources to build roads to reach them. That determination is among the findings of a state report released Jan. 23 evaluating possible access roads to the area.

Commissioned as part of the 2003 state Roads to Resources Initiative, the report identifies five possible access roads to the area, which encompasses Skwentna, Tyonek, Mount Spur and the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge. The area includes everything from potential geothermal and hydroelectric sites to sport fishing opportunities to gold and coal mining and natural gas reserves.

Those routes were each assigned a name.

• North Petersville Road: This route comes off of Petersville Road and then runs 78.8 miles into mining areas west of the Upper Skwentna River. It requires 13 bridges, including a major one crossing the Yentna River. Estimated price: $376 million.

• North Skwentna: Branching off of Oil Well Road, this route would run 71.6 miles, also into the Upper Skwentna area. It would cross the Yentna and Hayes Rivers, necessitating two of the 18 bridges it would require. Estimated price: $504 million.

• Middle Susitna-Skwentna River: Running 107.9 miles, this is the longest route. It connects to the existing Little Susitna River Road in the Knik area. In addition to being the longest, it requires the most bridges at 24, one of which would be 1,640 feet long and span the Susitna River. Estimated price: $453 million.

• Beluga: This one also connects to Little Susitna River Road, but runs just 63.8 miles. It’ll still needs that big bridge over the Susitna, plus 12 more bridges. Estimated price: $257 million.

• Deshka variant: Just 35.5 miles long, this one runs south from Oilwell Road eventually crossing the Susitna River and connecting to roads in Willow. The road mostly accesses land with timber and agricultural potential. Estimated price: $216 million.

The report says that the potential roads were selected to access different resources, which means the state could decide to build more than one.

“Given the wide variety of potential resource development opportunities within the study area, there is no single target point for the proposed access routes,” the report states.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.caom.