Port McKenzie wins $7.8 million federal grant; borough hears updates on rail, leases and maintenance needs

PORT MC KENZIE, Alaska — The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly on July 15 received a progress briefing on Port McKenzie from Port Director David Griffin that highlighted a recent federal grant award, ongoing maintenance needs and multiple business-development prospects.

Griffin told the assembly the borough has been awarded approximately $7,800,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation to build a barge haulout facility designed to allow barges to be pulled up, inspected and stored onshore. He said the grant requires a 35% local match and that the borough has those matching funds secured. Griffin said design and permitting are nearly complete and the borough hopes to advertise a construction bid package in fall 2025 with construction beginning in summer 2026, subject to final negotiations with the grantor.

“The grant award is for the barge ramp or barge haulout facility,” Griffin said. “It measures approximately 300 feet long, 200 feet wide. It is all rock … it’ll have a gravel surface in a 7% grade.”

Why it matters: Griffin said the ramp would give local barge operators a place to dry-dock and maintain barges close to their home base rather than shipping them to Homer or Seward, and would add redundancy for roll-on/roll-off operations at Port McKenzie. He said the facility is expected to attract year-round work such as barge maintenance, landing-craft operations and storage for seasonal commercial fishing vessels.

Major maintenance and capital items

Griffin reviewed several immediate and near-term infrastructure items the port is tackling: - Pile sleeves and cathodic protection: Griffin said the port completed a phase of a pile-sleeve project supported by an Economic Development Administration grant; the first phase was roughly a $10.5 million construction project completed ahead of schedule. The overall pile program originally…