Welcome West Susitna Access Road Project
Welcome to the West Susitna Access Road Project Text Only version of the August 15 and 15 in-person public meetings!
STIP ID: 34206, 34461
The purpose of this Online Public Meeting is to share information about the West Susitna Access Road Project (WestSu Access Project) and the materials presented at the August 14 and 15, 2024, in-person public meetings. We also want to collect your comments on the project’s purpose and need, and the issues and concerns that will help shape this project.
This online platform is open from August 14 to 23, 2024. Your feedback is important to us! You may visit the “Comment” page to leave your comments.
Note: The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is beginning the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for the WestSu Access Project. The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable federal environmental laws for this project are being, or have been, carried out by DOT&PF pursuant to 23 United States Code 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated April 13, 2023, and executed by the Federal Highway Administration and DOT&PF. We encourage you to share what you like, your concerns, and/or issues related to the proposed action, the purpose and need for the project, and any alternatives you think should be examined.
Welcome
The WestSu Access project would open up more than 6 million acres of public lands for recreation and other purposes, enhancing the region’s transportation infrastructure and economy.
Meeting Purpose
- Share information about the WestSu Access project
- Collect your comments on the project’s purpose and need and the issues and concerns that will help shape the project.
What WestSu Access IS and is NOT
It IS
- A public road
- Approximately 22 miles long
- Approximately 24-feet wide
- Constructed from gravel
- Able to accommodate legal highway vehicles
- Intended for recreation, tourism, food gathering, settlement, and economic activities
It is NOT
- A private road
- An industrial route
- Approximately 100 miles long
- Part of a larger project
Project Schedule & Phases
The current WestSu Access Project anticipated schedule and phases are outlined below. Public opinion and feedback are important in this project. Please note that public engagement opportunities will occur during each phase. Dates are subject to change.
Scoping (July 23, 2024 – September 2024)
Scoping is the process of identifying and seeking input on important issues to be studied in an Environmental Assessment (EA), including possible impacts from project alternatives, the project’s purpose and need, potential alternatives to the proposed action, and potential data gaps.
Draft EA and Draft Design Study Report (October 2024 – March 2025)
The Draft EA provides impact analyses for reasonable alternatives. The purpose of an EA is to determine if there is potential for significant environmental impacts that would warrant preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EA will also explore opportunities to avoid, reduce, or mitigate potential impacts.
Final EA (April 2025)
If no significant environmental impacts are identified during the document’s development, DOT&PF will issue a final EA and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI outlines the reasons why DOT&PF believes the project would not incur significant environmental impacts. If the EA identifies significant impacts, however, DOT&PF will develop an EIS.
Purpose & Need
Purpose
The purpose of the WestSu Access Project is to provide a safe public road linkage from the existing highway system west toward public lands owned by the State of Alaska and Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB). This improved access would allow for increased recreation, guiding, and settlement opportunities as well as economic development of state and MSB resources, including forestry, agriculture, minerals, and energy.
Need
The absence of road access inhibits Alaskans’ ability to use lands selected and planned for recreation, settlement, and economic/resource development. Adopted management plans for the state- and local government-selected lands within the study area identify and plan for development of these opportunities.
External Web Resources:
For additional information on this, visit westsuaccess.com/EWR, and see “adopted management plans.”
Preliminary Design Elements
The WestSu Access Project will preliminarily include:
- This is a gravel pioneer (or frontier) road that will look similar to the Nenana-Totchaket road.
- This project will include a combination of boat launches and river crossings, as well as pullouts.
- Design criteria, including bridges and preliminary culvert designs, will be included in the draft EA.
Design elements will be refined based on public input and recommendations from the various field studies, including geotechnical recommendations from drilling results collected during winter and fish passage design for all streams identified in the fish studies. Design criteria, including bridges and preliminary culvert designs, will be included in the EA.
Land Use Overview A
The WestSu Access proposed action crosses through land with a variety of use designations, including forestry, agricultural, and settlement. The western end of the project is approximately 1.5 miles west of Alexander Creek, ending at parcels previously platted by the MSB. This location would provide access to:
- State-managed lands designated for settlement and other uses
- State lands designated for forestry
- Areas for sport hunting and fishing, subsistence, and public recreation
The terminus also provides an efficient turnaround point for vehicles and access to construction materials sites.
Land Use Overview B
This map details the land use designations across the approximately 22-mile-long proposed action alignment for the WestSu Access Project. The project would improve access to public land designated for settlement and forestry as well as sport hunting, fishing, and public recreation.
Please see the chart on Land Use Overview (Poster A) for a detailed breakdown according to the key land use plans associated with the project area.
DOT&PF’s Proposed Action
DOT&PF’s proposed action is the West Susitna Parkway Alternative (Figure 1), a 22.4-mile-long route that would begin at the western end of the West Susitna Parkway, southwest of Big Lake.
The alignment proceeds westward and slightly northward to its terminus approximately 2 miles west of Alexander Creek on state-owned land near an existing platted Alaska Department of Natural Resources-managed subdivision. The proposed alignment travels predominantly through a mix of birch and black spruce uplands, avoiding wetland impacts to the extent practicable. Bridges would be built over the Little Susitna River, Fish Creek, the Susitna River, and Alexander Creek.
Boat launches will be considered. Culverts would be placed at other crossings as needed for drainage and fish passage.
The proposed roadway typical section includes a 24-foot-wide top surface. Turnouts would be provided at regular intervals. Material sites would be developed along the proposed route to provide embankment material for both initial construction and long-term maintenance requirements.
Background
The idea of pursuing road access up to and west of the Susitna River has been considered by State of Alaska and MSB officials for decades.
Regarding the most recent efforts, DOT&PF developed the 2014 West Susitna Surface Access Reconnaissance Study.
Building off this 2014 Reconnaissance Study, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and MSB initiated the 100-mile-long West Susitna Access Project in 2019. This project would connect the MSB’s Point MacKenzie deepwater port to the Yentna Mining District’s natural resources.
In 2023, DOT&PF announced its intent to begin a separate project to build an approximately 22-mile-long public road and associated facilities to meet the region’s growing demand for improved access to public land and recreational areas along and west of the Susitna River. This project would gain efficiencies from the robust environmental, cultural, and public involvement work done as part of earlier projects.
In 2024, DOT&PF added the project to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and began the West Susitna Access Road Project to provide a safe public road linkage from the existing roadway system west toward public lands.
AIDEA continues to study their access needs. Visit AIDEA’s website at https://www.aidea.org/Programs/Infrastructure-Development/West-Susitna-Access for information regarding AIDEA’s projects and activities.
East End Connection Alternatives Considered
Many alternative routes have been explored over the years. In DOT&PF’s 2014 Reconnaissance Study, the Department evaluated five alternative corridors for improving access to state lands and resources. The proposed action for the WestSu Project generally follows the corridor identified in that report, as it has the greatest access opportunities and lowest environmental constraints. See the DOT&PF 2014 Reconnaissance Study for details: dot.alaska.gov/roadstoresources/assets/WSSARS/WestSusitna_TAR_w_Appendix.pdf.
In the 2014 Reconnaissance Study, DOT&PF examined several ways to connect to the road system at the eastern end. The West Susitna Parkway route is the proposed action because it avoids the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge and private property, and leverages existing road rights-of-way. See the 2014 Reconnaissance Study for more details: dot.alaska.gov/roadstoresources/assets/WSSARS/WestSusitna_TAR_w_Appendix.pdf.
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) Project
The WestSu Access Project is using data from a variety of sources, including AIDEA’s 100-mile-long proposed industrial project. The following are highlights from AIDEA’s West Susitna Access project:
- AIDEA has studied access to the West Susitna area.
- AIDEA evaluated a wide range of alternatives across a broad area.
- AIDEA identified a preferred place to cross the Susitna River and access resources.
DOT&PF’s recent work is building off the Department’s 2014 Reconnaissance Study and AIDEA’s work. The proposed action largely aligns with approximately 22 miles of the eastern end of AIDEA’s recommended corridor, the Port MacKenzie Variant. It is unknown if the industrial 100-mile-long corridor would be built, but AIDEA has a separate project that is considering it. For more details regarding AIDEA’s project, visit its website: https://www.aidea.org/Programs/Infrastructure-Development/West-Susitna-Access.
DOT&PF’s 2014 West Susitna Access Reconnaissance Study
The WestSu Access Project is using data from a variety of sources, including DOT&PF’s 2014 West Susitna Reconnaissance Study. Some key features of the 2014 Reconnaissance Study and DOT&PF’s current project include:
- DOT&PF studied many routes over a broad area in 2014 and will use this as a foundation for the current WestSu Access Project.
- The Middle Susitna-Skwentna River Corridor was found to have the highest access to opportunities and to be among the corridors with the lowest costs per mile.
- The proposed action generally follows the recommended corridor in the 2014 Reconnaissance Study, and would build the first 22.4 miles.
- DOT&PF is not pursuing an alignment past Alexander Creek. It is unknown if another entity, such as AIDEA, would pursue a transportation link beyond DOT&PF’s project.
To view the 2024 Reconnaissance Study visit: https://westsuaccess.com/documents/ or visit: dot.alaska.gov/roadstoresources/assets/WSSARS/WestSusitna_TAR_w_Appendix.pdf
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Process
The WestSu Access Project is currently pursuing a NEPA process. NEPA requires agencies to “undertake an assessment of the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions.” The WestSu Access Project is currently in the “scoping” phase for an EA.
Under NEPA requirements, DOT&PF is initiating an EA for the project that will identify key issues, including direct impacts to the natural and human environment, and indirect and cumulative impacts related to other activities that are reasonably predicted to occur off the road (e.g., recreation, settlement, resource development).
The EA will consider the project’s purpose and need, alternatives to meet those needs, and potential environmental impacts, and DOT&PF will involve agencies and the public in the EA’s development.
The completion of an EA will result in either a FONSI or a determination to proceed with an EIS if significant impacts to the quality of the human and natural environment are identified.
Visit the project’s homepage or the documents and resources page (www.WestSuAccess.com) to review the current project documents for background, purpose and need, logical termini, and the proposed action.
Natural Environment
To optimize the WestSu Access Project budget and timeline, DOT&PF is using environmental and cultural resource data from previous projects and studies, with a focus on data developed for AIDEA’s West Susitna Access Project:
- Many of the potential impacts have already been identified in previous studies.
- DOT&PF plans fieldwork in 2024 related to:
- Wetlands
- Hydrology and hydraulics
- Wildlife
- Fish and Essential Fish Habitat
- Noise impacts
- The proposed action includes four bridged rivers and five culvert crossings, with another nine culvert-crossed waterbodies listed as probable for fish presence; these will require obtaining a habitat permit from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The draft EA will identify potential mitigation measures.
Cultural Resources
For cultural resources, DOT&PF will:
- Work with agencies and Tribes to identify historic properties and places of traditional, religious, and cultural importance.
- Coordinate with the State Historic Preservation Office and Bureau of Land Management.
- Deliver field surveys currently planned for 2024.
The proposed action would include three crossings over the Historic Iditarod Trail.
What We’ve Heard
DOT&PF acknowledges concerns previously expressed about AIDEA’s project, including impacts on remote lifestyle, project costs, increase in trespass and crime, and increased pressure from hunting and fishing.
DOT&PF also understands that some people want this WestSu Access Project and think access is good for recreation and economic development. However, DOT&PF also understands that people have concerns that access could negatively affect the environment and businesses that rely on remote tourism opportunities.
Contact Us & More Information
The WestSu Access Project will have multiple public comment periods. The first focuses on the environmental process; it will be open Tuesday, July 23, 2024, and close Friday, August 23, 2024.
You can submit your comments during this period in several ways:
Online: westsuaccess.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (907) 331-3878
Mail: 582 E 36th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99503
For more information, visit westsuaccess.com.
Remember, it is most helpful to focus on comments related to:
- A particular feature of the alignment, potential impact, or proposed mitigation
- Concerns about the alignment and why it is of concern
- How the project or proposed action would affect you