Welcome

The purpose of this Online Public Meeting is to share information about the West Susitna Access Road Project (WestSu Access) 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 and Contact station of this meeting or visit the website at westsuaccess.com to leave your comments. You can also find the presented documents at the in-person meeting linked below.

You can access additional resources under the poster. These materials are either downloadable PDF documents or weblinks. Adobe Reader is required to view the PDF documents. You can obtain a free copy at https://get.adobe.com/reader.

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.

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.  

Land Use Overview 

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-managed 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 material sites.

Land Use Overview Map 

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 for a detailed breakdown according to the key land use plans associated with the project area.

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.

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.

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 for information regarding AIDEA’s projects and activities.

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.

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.

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 documents and resources page to review the current project documents for background, purpose and need, logical termini, and the proposed action.

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.