Project History

A rail line serving the Port MacKenzie area has been considered since the early 1970s.In 2003, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough commissioned a rail corridor study, which developed various alignment alternatives.

While the 2003 report recommended a specific alternative for further consideration,the current project reconsidered some of the previous feasible alignments and developed new alternatives for consideration.

On Feb. 12, 2008, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which kicked off the formal environmental review process required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The STB held scoping meetings in Knik, Big Lake, Willow, Houston, Wasilla, and Anchorage in March 2008.

Prior to the NOI, the MSB and the ARRC submitted the Preliminary Environmental and Alternatives Report (PEAR) in mid-January 2008 to the STB.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB), the lead federal agency responsible for approving new rail line, issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on March 16, 2010.