Road, rail rumors put to rest

The Kenai Peninsula is rife with scuttlebutt and rumors about plans to connect with the rest of the state. Talk of roads linking with the Anchorage area, railways coming onto the central peninsula and additional highway extending north often come up as water cooler chatter, reflecting the desires of the populace. In some cases, theres absolutely no basis to such fantastic ideals. In others, however, there is some truth.

But first, the bad news.

There are still no concrete plans to create a railroad spur that comes into the central peninsula area, although the issue has been raised.

Jack Brown, the Kenai Penin-sula Boroughs economic development manager, was appointed by state legislators to a task force charged with outlining some specific needs for the peninsula. Among those issues to be addressed was transportation.

I recommended a deep-water port, a railroad spur and improvements in the airports, Brown said. I think that kind of went by the wayside. Alaska Railroad public affairs officer Patrick Flynn confirmed Browns assessment.

Its not on our plate right now, Flynn said. Water transportation is better than rail transportation. Because most of the lower peninsula has good ports and water facilities, there really isnt a need for a spur.

And then theres the idea of extending the Kenai Spur Highway so a bridge can be built spanning Turnagain Arm to connect the peninsula to Anchorage.

I have heard people talk anecdotally about the reason this road is being built, said Wayne Aderhold, project manager with the boroughs major projects division. That ones nothing but talk at this point.

Murph OBrien, assistant regional director for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said although strong momentum is being raised in efforts to develop a bridge from the Anchorage Bowl across Knik Arm into the Matanuska Valley, the odds of such a bridge coming onto the peninsula are slim. Back in the 70s there had been a real point of interest for a bridge, OBrien said. But Im 99.9 percent sure theres nothing for Turnagain Arm. But the good news is, the road will be extended beyond its current terminus in Captain Cook Park as part of a project the borough has undertaken with DOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

Designers plan for the road to run north for about 26 miles past two proposed new residential subdivisions. The road will run through borough property adjacent to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in a 100-foot corridor state legislators earmarked for transportation.

What Ive been told, the National Wildlife Refuge was pulled back from the coast to allow for development, Aderhold said. He said the FHWA agreed to the project as long as DOT would oversee the boroughs actions. The joint project, initially budgeted for approximately $6 million, currently is in the preliminary design and engineering phase.

The borough will hire a consultant to determine the roads route and to do an environmental assessment of the project. Aderhold said this could take between two and five years. A detail design and right of way acquisition would follow. That, he said, could be another year and a half to two years before a year-long or more construction period.

But how far the extension will go is yet to be determined, Aderhold said, acknowledging the project will definitely call for more money before it is complete.

It depends on how long the road is and how much money is left when we get to the end of the design phase, he said. We know we dont have near enough money to build the entire 26 miles.