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 covered 64 piles; 32 have been sleeved and about 32 remain. He estimated the remaining work (materials and labor) at roughly $7 million. Engineers estimate the sleeves extend life of the piles by about 25 years; some contractors estimate up to 50 years. Griffin said pile-sleeving work protects steel exposed to tidal cycles. - Barge dock condition: The port’s barge dock includes 15 cells; Griffin said “cell 1” has required emergency repairs and will need a larger rehabilitation that he estimated at about $3 million to $4 million depending on scope. He said the deep-draft dock (about 1,200 feet long), the barge dock (500 feet) and associated trestles remain key assets. - A-frame/conveyor removal: Griffin said the A-frame portion of a conveyor on the deep-draft dock interferes with some ship operations and could be removed and stored; he estimated a dismantling/salvage or demo cost around $500,000. - Equipment and smaller grants: Griffin said the port purchased a rough-terrain cargo crane through a U.S. Marine Highway program grant and the crane is on order. He said the borough submitted another Marine Highway grant application that day for a loader, forklift and skid steer for dock maintenance and operations.

Rail extension and lands

Griffin described the Port McKenzie rail extension as a critical unlock for larger-scale industrial activity. He said about 25 of the project’s 32 miles of embankment are constructed and that the remaining roughly 7 miles of embankment and track run through the Point McKenzie farms. The borough is exploring an updated cost estimate for the remaining work so it can resubmit a federal funding application; Griffin said the Alaska Railroad and the borough have discussed the project and that the borough might submit a federal grant application on the railroad’s behalf.

Management and land-selection language

Griffin and borough staff said upcoming legislation would formally move management of port-district land under the port enterprise fund and codify the port’s management role. Griffin said the change is intended to keep revenue generated in the Port District within the port’s enterprise fund and to streamline decision-making while continuing coordination with the borough’s land-and-resources office. He said the language on “land selection” mirrors existing borough land-management terminology and could help the port negotiate with entities that own inholdings inside the Port District, including the University of Alaska, which the port said owns about four parcels totaling roughly 850 acres within the district.

Business-development interest

Griffin listed several private and public interests already using or exploring Port McKenzie: Cook Inlet Regional, Inc. (CIRI) and its contractors, terminal operators handling modular housing and wind-turbine components, a new lease application tied to a Nova Minerals processing proposal, and interest from fuel companies to establish storage on the port’s uplands. He said the Fire Island wind project began using Port McKenzie last year for maintenance and staging because the facility offered cheaper and more convenient barging and storage than previous routes through Homer.

Military exercise and regional projects

Griffin said the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard will use the port in an Arctic Edge training exercise that is expected to run roughly July 27–Aug. 15. He also outlined regional infrastructure that ties into the port’s prospects, including the planned West Susitna Access Road, nearby transmission lines and a Beluga-area natural-gas transmission line used as part of AK LNG discussions.

Questions from the assembly

Assembly members asked about the barge-haulout grant, matching funds, and likely near-term business uses; Griffin said the 35% match is already secured and the current engineer’s estimate for the ramp is between $6 million and $8 million but could change once bids are received. On how many sleeves remain, Griffin said 32 of 64 piles remain to be sleeved. On emergency maintenance and longer-term needs, he identified the pile-sleeve completion and the cell‑1 repair as the top two capital priorities over the next five years.

Records and next steps

Griffin said the barge-haulout design is permitted and nearly ready to be put to bid after final grant negotiations, that he and staff will continue marketing and outreach to industry groups, and that the assembly should expect legislation and additional port-related requests in the near term (for material access at the Lorraine Pit, long-term leasing requests such as Nova Minerals’ proposal, and potential land transactions). He encouraged assembly members to visit the port and the contractor-run simulation he described as part of efforts to share updated current and tidal data with mariners.

Quotes

“I think it’s for me, it’s important to get out in front of you guys and just explain a little bit about what’s going on at Port McKenzie,” Griffin said. “We are growing and we see a lot of opportunity in the future.”

Audience comment Michelle Lehi, who said she had toured the port, told the assembly: “For myself, it just reaffirmed that I am 100% supportive of this project.”

Ending

The assembly took no formal votes during the special session; the briefing concluded with staff planning to return with legislation and project requests. Griffin and borough staff said they expect to advertise the barge-haulout construction bid in the fall of 2025, subject to final grant negotiations, and continue pursuing rail funding and private lease agreements that would bring long-term users to the Port District.