What you need to know:
- State transportation officials plan to begin construction next year on the first 17 miles of the West Susitna Access Road. Work on a bridge over the Susitna River could begin in winter 2028, followed by construction of the final 5-mile stretch in 2029.
- The $215.4 million road and bridge project would be funded primarily with federal transportation money, requiring a $21.5 million state match. A separate 78-mile industrial haul road serving potential mining projects would be financed through revenue bonds.
- Critics question the project’s rising costs, potential environmental impacts and uncertain connection to future mines.
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State transportation crews are on track to begin work next year on the first 17 miles of the West Susitna Access Road, officials said.
The stretch is designed to lead from the West Susitna Parkway in Big Lake to a planned bridge over the Susitna River and toward Skwetna.
The mostly federally funded, 22-mile project is slated to link up with a related but separately funded 78-mile industrial haul road leading to mining projects southeast of Rainy Pass…