State to spend $1 million on study of Knik Arm tunnel

A new $1 million study is set to evaluate the feasibility of building a tunnel underneath Knik Arm to connect Anchorage to the Mat-Su.

For decades, state transportation leaders have studied options to build a second major roadway north out of Anchorage. A 2019 study estimated a Knik Arm crossing would cost more than $900 million.

The proposed tunnel would be built beneath Cook Inlet, connecting an undeveloped area of Anchorage with Point MacKenzie in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The feasibility study is set to examine the costs, “potential economic benefits,” and environmental impacts of the megaproject. It is due to be completed by December 2025.

Alaska transportation officials say the study is intended to explore ways to meet “current and future transportation needs,” and to alleviate traffic from the Glenn Highway.

The Mat-Su is the fastest growing region in the state. Around one-third of its residents commute to Anchorage for work.

“I would personally be a fan of it — if it wasn’t too expensive and it wasn’t going to take 10 years to study,” said Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla.

However, a Knik Arm bridge has faced opposition due its projected costs and its impacts on the Government Hill area of Anchorage. A lodge and other buildings were razed in 2015 to make way for the bridge.

“Alaska does not need another feasibility study for a project that could cost billions and is strongly opposed by a majority of my constituents,” said Democratic Sen. Löki Tobin, who represents Government Hill.

With the state facing a multibillion-dollar deficit, former Gov. Bill Walker shut down the Knik Arm bridge in 2016. By then, the state had spent more than $100 million to advance the project.

In 2019, Gov. Mike Dunleavy reversed an administrative order by Walker that halted the bridge and other major construction projects. The project has not meaningfully advanced since then.

“The results of the feasibility study will give us a better picture of how the project could be constructed, potential costs, and financing options,” said Shannon McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Transportation.

McCarthy said previous projects have shown that a bridge would be feasible, but it would require “significant environmental requirements” — such as those under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

“A tunnel would be less impactful to the environment and local neighborhoods,” she said.

The department’s request for proposals states that the study should explore whether “advanced tunneling technologies” could help reduce costs, and accelerate construction.

McCarthy said “tunneling technology has advanced over the past decade.” She said that state transportation officials met with tunnel experts in March to talk about new technologies and lessons learned from past projects.

Bob French of Anchorage, an engineer and longtime opponent of the Knik Arm bridge, was skeptical a tunnel would be cheaper or less disruptive. He said the estimated price tag of $900 million in 2019 would likely have skyrocketed since then due to inflation.

French cited a 2013 report that found tolls would fall short in covering costs for a bridge. If the Knik Arm tunnel project advances, French said that he and other opponents would again spring into action.

“We would have the same arguments again,” he said. “It’s not fiscally feasible.”

Apart from building an alternative route for motorists, supporters like Shower say there are security reasons to building additional highways out of Anchorage.

In 2018, a truck crashed into an overpass on the Glenn Highway near Eagle River. Southbound lanes were closed for hours. Thousands of drivers were stuck in epic traffic jams. The Nov. 30 earthquake later that year damaged bridges over the highway.

Shower said the Glenn Highway is critical for the military and to truck food, fuel and medicines north of Anchorage. But he said backups are needed.

”One earthquake and we’re done,” he said.

For skeptics like Tobin, state transportation officials should instead prioritize public funding on projects that she said are achievable and well-supported by the community.

”Like improving pedestrian safety in Anchorage or completing the long overdue Cooper Landing project,” she said.