Copper River Valley planners seek comment on draft 20-year transportation plan

The Copper River Valley Regional Planning Organization is taking public comment through Nov. 6 on its draft Long-Range Transportation Plan, which is meant to guide transportation investments and improvements across the region for the next 20 years.

The comment period opened Oct. 6, according to the state's public notice. The draft is posted on the Copper Valley Development Association's Transportation Documents page, along with information on how to comment.

The plan includes recommendations for future improvements with high-level timelines and budgets, the association says. It is a guide, not a funding decision. The notice does not show that the plan has been adopted or that any particular project will be paid for.

Once the long-range plan is final, the organization plans to write a Regional Transportation Improvement Plan to carry out specific projects.

The organization was the first regional planning organization in Alaska. It was established at Gulkana in 2022 through a cooperative agreement between the development association and the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, under a department pilot program meant to give rural regions a formal channel for local input into transportation planning. Its boundaries match the Copper River Census Area. Terry Valentine chairs its committee, and Jason Hoke is committee manager.

Work on the plan began in spring 2025, and the association said it expected to finish by the end of 2026. The draft follows more than a year of planning and community engagement, including meetings, advisory group outreach and a region-wide survey. A community road show and online survey ran in late 2025 and early 2026.

The organization's public participation plan, adopted in February 2026, names residents, tribes, communities, businesses and partner organizations as groups it seeks to hear from.