State transportation leaders say they’re taking another look at the idea of using a tunnel instead of a bridge to connect the city of Anchorage with undeveloped land across the Knik Arm, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Alaska politicians have advanced the idea of the Knik Arm bridge in the past as a way for Anchorage area residents and workers to access more developable land in the Mat-Su.
But some Anchorage residents — particularly in the Government Hill neighborhood, where one end of the bridge would sit — have criticized its steep price tag and its displacement of neighborhood homes and businesses. A 2019 study estimated construction costs for the bridge to be some $900 million.
The controversial plan has been largely dormant in recent years, after independent former Gov. Bill Walker stopped work on it amid a state budget shortfall in 2016. Three years later, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy removed restrictions on advancing the bridge, but his administration has made little tangible progress.
A previous analysis in 2003 examined the idea of a tunnel instead of a bridge. Now, given “significant increases in tunneling technology,” the state transportation department is taking another look at the concept, Commissioner Ryan Anderson said in an email.
“We continue with our due diligence efforts on evaluating the merits of strengthened Mat-Su Anchorage connections,” Anderson said. “These are exploratory discussions; there are no actions being taken at this time.”
The department is also examining the use of tunnels for upgrades of the Seward Highway between Anchorage and Girdwood, Anderson said.
In both cases, the agency is looking at whether tunnels could reduce costs and permitting requirements. For the highway project, tunnels could also cut off curves and require less work to realign a parallel railroad bed, Anderson said.
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