This Tuesday the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will hear public comment on another step in the work to extend the Kenai Spur Highway in Nikiski.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough received approval from a federal administration in September to proceed with plans for the North Road Extension Project. Now an ordinance before the Borough Assembly will request the allocated funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Last month Borough Mayor Mike Navarre introduced an ordinance to appropriate the remaining $5.1 million in federal monies to proceed with the modified scope of the project.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, Western Federal Lands Highway Division approved plans in September to construct up to 7.5 miles of gravel road at the current terminus of the Kenai Spur Highway at the Captain Cook State Recreation Area.
Typically, a matching-grant contract requires municipalities to match some funding. However the Borough’s in-kind contributions exceeded the required 20 percent match due to the donation of data, permitting, and designs from Apache, Alaska this spring.
The plans are dependent upon the National Environmental Policy Act’s approval of a categorical exclusion for the project.
A memo by the Project’s Engineer Henry Knackstedt says “The WFL intends to submit approval for a categorical exclusion, recognizing the road construction as a mitigation project that reduces the impacts to the wetlands and sensitive habitat currently created by off-road vehicles.”
The Borough Assembly will hear and vote on the ordinance to appropriate the 5.1 million federal dollars for the project at the November 22 meeting which begins at 6 pm in the Borough Assembly Chambers.
