House Finance Hears Sharp Divide Over $95M for West Susitna Road

The Alaska House Finance Committee heard public testimony Wednesday on the capital budget, with sharp debate over a proposed $95 million appropriation for the first 22 miles of the West Susitna Access Road. Opponents argued the project primarily benefits private mining companies. Supporters said it would unlock economic development and public access.

The hearing ran from 4:46 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. on April 29. It also included testimony on restoring Homeless Assistance Program funding and support for the Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks. Public testimony was scheduled to end at 6:30 p.m., with callers able to add themselves to the schedule until 6 p.m.

The West Susitna funding is included in Senate Bill 214. The bill was introduced in January and moved through the Senate Finance Committee in April. Members Olson, Hoffman, Stedman, Merrick and Kiehl voted Do Pass on April 16. When the full Senate took up the measure on April 21, three amendments were proposed. Senate Amendment No. 1 failed 7-12. Senate Amendment No. 2 failed 6-12. A third amendment was offered and then withdrawn. The Senate passed the bill 19-0 with one member excused and transmitted it to the House the same day. The House Finance Committee received the bill on April 22.

The $95 million would cover the initial phase of a 100-mile industrial corridor estimated to cost between $800 million and $1.26 billion when complete, according to testimony from Lois Epstein, an Alaska-licensed engineer who analyzed a 2014 state reconnaissance study.

Karen Garvey testified the road would cross 182 streams, with 171 requiring culverts and only 83 designed for fish passage. Bob Butera, a civil engineer who worked on the 2019 reconnaissance study, said the project would cross 156 rivers and streams and require 11 bridges. Butera said one bridge across the Susitna River would be 2,200 feet long, 700 feet longer than the Glenn Highway crossing at the Knik River, making it the longest bridge in south-central Alaska.

Garvey said federal environmental review remains incomplete. Thane Piscoya, vice president of Alexander Creek, echoed those concerns. He said the road would adversely affect hunting, fishing and indigenous cultural sites including burial grounds.

Butera said the project has shifted from a mining access road to be paid for by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to a recreational access road funded by the Department of Transportation. "Every dollar spent on the West Susitna Access Project is money taken from construction operations and maintenance of the basic transportation needs that serve the majority of local residents," Butera said.

Mark Miller, owner of Dallheim Lodge, compared the appropriation to buying a car without knowing the total price or maintenance costs. "We are being asked to move forward without a clear total cost, without long-term maintenance projections and without any companies committed to paying for it," Miller said. He estimated the road would generate mostly short-term construction jobs while the state absorbs ongoing maintenance costs.