Mat-Su Assembly member moves to reconsider the pricier Engstrom-Trunk road route

Assembly member Maxwell Sumner has filed a motion to reconsider the resolution that picked Northern Route 1 for a new road between Engstrom Road and Trunk Road, reopening the borough's contested route decision.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly takes up the motion at its Tuesday, Oct. 6 meeting, at 6 pm in Palmer.

The corridor is meant to give Fishhook-area drivers an alternate route and ease traffic at the Engstrom and Bogard Road intersection, according to the borough project page.

Alaska News previously covered the assembly's selection of the pricier route over advisers and landowners. The northern route was estimated at $21 million to $31 million. Before that vote, the Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission had backed a southern route estimated at about $9 million.

In a Sept. 19 update on the Sept. 15 assembly meeting, Mayor Edna DeVries said most of the public support was for the southern route, but the assembly voted 4-3 for the administration's recommendation of the northern route. She said there is currently no money for either, "because of course both projects are very expensive." In November 2021, Mat-Su voters approved the TIP 21 transportation bond package, which included $2.5 million earmarked for this corridor.

The two sides have argued safety and traffic. Rod Hanson, speaking for the North Lakes Community Council at the Sept. 15 meeting, said the southern route would take gravel trucks off Bogard Road and the Bogard-Engstrom intersection. At an August Planning Commission meeting, borough project management division manager Cole Branham defended the northern option, saying it "serves a broader area and distributes traffic." Trevor Straight of HDL Engineering, which did the traffic and safety analysis, told the commission the southern route's modeled advantage at the intersection could fall within the margin of error, since projections extend to 2050. Southern-route supporter Sharon Johnson, a Bogard Road-area resident, told the commission that the northern road "faces strong sustained opposition from the affected landowners."

Residents can submit written comments to [email protected] or testify by phone at 1-855-225-2326 before the assembly takes up the motion Oct. 6. Audience participation comes before the motion on the agenda.