3.0 Affected Environment - Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority

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Knik Arm Crossing DraftFinal EIS Affected Environment POA to meet its mission and goals. Construction activities for the proposed bridge and approach roads would have to be coordinated with construction activities for the POA. Cook Inlet Ferry Planned improvements The Cook Inlet Ferry is a programmed improvement anticipated to be operated by the Mat-Su Borough or a regional organization starting in 2008. As currently planned, the Cook Inlet Ferry system will include a terminal building, parking, and ferry landing at Port MacKenzie and parking, a ferry landing, and a small terminal facility in Anchorage. The Cook Inlet Ferry will be a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) vessel. The vessel will have unique loading/unloading capabilities, which will provide greater service flexibility, shorter loading/unloading times, and faster transit times than traditional point-topoint ferries. The SWATH is slated to have the capacity of 135 passengers and 26-28 passenger vehicles/light trucks or four semitrailer trucks. The SWATH is capable of operating in both “barge” and “high-speed” modes. The ferry is expected to complete one round-trip in an hour and make approximately16 round trips a day, although service will begin with only several trips per day and increase as demand builds. 3.2.2.3 Rail transportation Anchorage and the Mat-Su are served by the Alaska Railroad, which provides an important rail link throughout Southcentral Alaska and into Interior Alaska. The Alaska Railroad lines within the Study Area are shown in Figures 3.10 and 3.11. 3.2.2.3.1 The Mat-Su Existing facilities No rail line is available in the Point MacKenzie area. The existing rail line parallels the Parks Highway and passes through the cities of Wasilla and Houston. Alaska Railroad passenger services between Anchorage and Fairbanks pass through the Mat-Su and consist of one northbound and one southbound trip daily in summer, and weekly in winter. There are also special trains that pass through the area, such as trains that carry cruise ship passengers between Talkeetna and Whittier without stopping in Anchorage. Planned improvements ARRC is improving the safety and efficiency of its operations by upgrading and realigning its track between Anchorage and Wasilla. This project would reduce the severity of approximately 70 sharp curves and would decrease running time between Anchorage and Wasilla to under an hour. Mat-Su Borough, in cooperation with ARRC, has completed a feasibility study for extending rail service to Port MacKenzie. The recommended rail access would extend from Port MacKenzie north to intersect the Alaska Railroad mainline tracks north of Willow Creek, a distance of approximately 44 miles. The proposed route lies east of and parallel to Point MacKenzie Road. ARRC and Mat-Su Borough have indicated that they do not anticipate the Page 3-52 12/18/07
Knik Arm Crossing DraftFinal EIS Affected Environment spur line to be operating by 2030. 3.2.2.3.2 Anchorage Existing facilities The main ARRC freight yard is located adjacent to Whitney Road in the Ship Creek area, southeast of the POA (see Figure 3.11). The freight main runs through the area and is used by all freight traffic running between Anchorage and points south, and for daily switching operations. A single rail spur leads from the ARRC operations center into the POA. Trains run through the yard at restricted speeds, between 5 and 15 mph. ARRC recently built a new operations center on Whitney Road and has plans for a new car shop. The main passenger line traverses the southern portion of the Ship Creek valley, serving all passenger trains and freight trains bypassing the freight yard. The Alaska Railroad mainline to points north out of Anchorage roughly parallels the Glenn Highway. The Alaska Railroad also transports passengers south to Whittier and Seward. A new intermodal transportation center (depot) is planned adjacent to the existing railroad depot. The railroad transports freight, jet fuel, gravel, coal, and other resources. The Alaska Railroad also transports a substantial numbers of passengers in the summer months through Wasilla to points north. ARRC’s Anchorage Terminal Reserve, which covers about 600 acres, includes a rail yard and other properties leased to tenants. It is bordered by Cook Inlet to the west, the Government Hill community and Elmendorf Air Force Base to the north, the Mountain View community to the east, and downtown Anchorage to the south. Much of the land including the rail yard, is near Ship Creek. The rail yard includes a track system, repair buildings, fueling area, steaming rack, warehouses, and office buildings. In 2005, ARRC completed construction of its Operations Center in the freight yard area. This state-of-the-art facility serves as the nerve center of the Alaska Railroad, bringing dispatch, transportation, safety, and operations together under one roof. The track network includes an estimated 170,000 linear feet of track, the most concentrated of which is north of Ship Creek in the main freight yard area located adjacent to Whitney Road, southeast of the POA (see Figure 3.11). In addition to the passenger main and freight main, which merge at the south end near Elderberry Park, there are more than 60 tracks in the yard and surrounding area that are used for loading and offloading of freight, serving customers, switching cars and assembling trains. There are more than 15 additional tracks that serve maintenance and operations buildings. Two rail spurs lead from the ARRC Operations Center into the POA, along with other industrial spur tracks. The freight main is used by freight trains running between Anchorage and points north and south transporting freight, jet fuel, gravel, coal, and other resources. Trains run through the yard at restricted speeds (5 to 15 mph). The main passenger line traverses the southern portion of the Ship Creek valley and serves all passenger trains and fright trains, bypassing the freight yard. The Alaska Railroad transports a substantial number of passengers in the summer months through Wasilla to points north, and south to Whittier and Seward. 12/18/07 Page 3-53
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3.0 Affected Environment - Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority

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