A gradual slowdown of Alaska's economy is affecting the sprawling Matanuska-Susitna Borough along with the rest of the state, but the borough government is hustling a string of projects that is taking some of the sting out of the slowdown and laying a foundation of long-needed regional infrastructure.

Borough Manager John Duffy ticked off a long to-do list the borough is following. He spoke at an Oct. 1 briefing to the Resource Development Council in Anchorage.

At the top of the list is construction of the $240 million, 1,536-bed medium-security correctional facility now underway. The walls are up, the roof is on and 350 construction workers are on the job, Duffy said.

The borough took the lead in developing the prison, which will be owned by the regional government but leased to the state Department of Corrections. Work on the prison has helped keep skilled labor employed in what is otherwise a soft building season in the Mat-Su. It is currently the state's largest construction project.

Once operational, the prison will employ 450 people directly and will employ many others in support services like laundry and food services, Duffy said.

Port Mackenzie also is being expanded. Trucks and other heavy equipment are out there to build a road loop to facilitate bulk material loading and unloading, and hopefully the efficient unloading of trains if a rail extension is built, Duffy said. Requests for bids are also out for construction of a barge unloading facility at the port.

A new Cook Inlet ferry will be christened Jan. 23, Duffy said. The vessel is now under construction in the Alaska Ship and Drydock shipyard in Ketchikan. Cross-Knik Arm traffic is the goal and the ferry aims to cut the commuting time for people in the region to get to and from jobs in Anchorage. It is expected make it easier for Anchorage-based industrial contractors and suppliers to participate in development projects in the Mat-Su, Duffy said.

The ferry will mean a lot for smaller communities across Cook Inlet, too. For example, it will cut the cost of moving people and supplies to the community of Tyonek, on Cook Inlet's west side, which is not far in distance but has no road access.

A connection with Tyonek is important for the residents and because there are several hundred millions of dollars of projects planned not far from the community, including large coal mine and hydroelectric and geothermal power projects.

Closer to home, Mat-Su has struggled to keep up with growing student populations. It now has Alaska's second largest school district and has the busiest school construction programs in the state, Duffy said.

Essentially Mat-Su has been building one new school a year, the latest is the new Su Valley high school, set to be completed in December, Duffy said.

There's also a lot of state-funded road and highway work underway, such as the long-planned rehabilitation and expansion of Trunk Road, a project aimed at relieving congestion.

A build-out of infrastructure like roads has long been a priority for the borough, Duffy said. The region has seen rapid population growth in past years, and three-fourths of the growth is from people moving in from out-of-state or from Anchorage.

"People moving in expect a certain level of highway infrastructure and congestion relief, so we're working through this, and we've had our growing pains," Duffy said.

Mat-Su's population in 2009 was estimated at about 82,500 and is expected to reach 102,700 by 2018. The borough has seen an average 4.5 percent population growth over the last 15 years.

Mat-Su's "build-out analysis" shows there will be continued growth in the Knik-Fairview areas of the borough and that a priority should be put on road improvements in the area, with a particular eye on safety. If the proposed Knik Arm bridge is built, this will be a major access corridor, Duffy said.

Like most parts of the state, the regional economy has been soft. New housing starts fell off, down from a peak of 1,664 in 2005 to 775 in 2008. Borough assessors told Duffy things have leveled off and there may even be a small increase in new housing starts in 2009, Duffy told the RDC.

The borough's to-do list includes projects to enhance regional tourism. A federal environmental impact statement on a long-planned Hatcher Pass recreational ski project is underway.

When it is done, the borough will move ahead with a phased plan to develop facilities, initially a system of cross-country ski trails and warming huts. This would be followed by a downhill ski facility, starting with a chairlift and day lodge, similar to Juneau's Eaglecrest ski area. The cross-country ski trail system could be in place next year.

The borough is also working in cooperation with the state and National Park Service on a South Denali visitor center off the Parks Highway. About $9 million is in hand to do design and engineering for an access road from the Parks Highway to the site of the visitor center.

Money must still be raised for road construction and the center itself. Another $25 million is needed for the project. The timeline for this is three to five years, Duffy said.

The crown jewel of the borough's economic development initiatives is a proposed extension of the Alaska Railroad from the existing rail track to the borough's Port McKenzie.

This could provide a cheaper, more efficient outlet for minerals mined in Interior Alaska, said Dave Hansen, the borough's planning director. For example, it could cut an estimated $1 to $1.50 per ton from the cost of shipping coal for export markets from the Usibelli coal mine in Healy. Usibelli now ships coal through Seward.

If efficient rail transport were available, limestone deposits near Cantwell could be developed and marketed. The rail extension could also lower costs for shipping equipment and materials for gas pipeline construction.

Hansen said a federal draft environmental impact statement for the rail extension is expected soon, and final EIS approval could come early in the year. Depending on which route is selected, the rail extensions could be 25 miles to 40 miles, and costs could range from $200 million to $250 million.

The borough has taken the lead on the project, working with the Alaska Railroad, Hansen said. About $27.5 million, mostly state funds, have been expended on the project so far.

Tim Bradner can be reached at

tim.bradner@alaskajournal.com.