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THE JOURNAL - AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION BY THE ALASKA MINERS ASSOCIATION
SEPTEMBER 2026 | WWW.ALASKAMINERS.ORG
AIDEA commits $25 million for work advancing West Susitna Access Project COURTESY AIDEA
The $25 million authorization also supports hydrologic and hydraulic investigations and preparation of state and federal permit applications. Those include authorizations involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska Depart- ment of Natural Resources and Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The work is being coordinated by AIDEA staff with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ Northern Region Materials Section, along with engineering and permitting consultants. The West Susitna Access Project is envisioned as a trans- portation link into a largely undeveloped portion of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The proposed road could provide year-round access to a number of significant min- eral and energy prospects while also opening thousands of acres of state land to recreation, settlement and other uses. Among the projects that could benefit from improved access are Nova Minerals’ Estelle antimony and gold project, U.S. GoldMining’s Whistler gold project and Terra Energy’s coal project in the Susitna Basin. For Alaska’s resource industry, the significance extends beyond any single project. A permanent transportation corridor can reduce the logistical challenges associ- ated with developing remote resources and create
opportunities for construction, mining, energy, transporta- tion and other support industries. Successful development could also generate jobs, royalties and other revenues for the state and communities. That potential is central to AIDEA’s role in advancing major infrastructure projects. “The Board’s action reflects our confidence in this project and our commitment to doing it right,” said AIDEA Board Chair Bill Kendig. “West Susitna is exactly the kind of investment AIDEA was created to make — infrastructure that opens opportunity for Alaskans today and for genera- tions to come.” AIDEA first approved West Susitna as a development finance project in 2019. Since then, the authority and its partners have advanced a series of predevelopment activities aimed at establishing the technical and regulato- ry foundation for the project. The new funding represents a transition toward a more detailed stage of engineering. The geotechnical information collected over the next two field seasons will help transform the proposed route into a design grounded in site-specific data. That information will ultimately support decisions on bridges, drainage, construction materials and road construction methods.
T he West Susitna Access Project has reached anoth- er important milestone, with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) Board of Directors unanimously approving up to $25 million for the next phase of work on the proposed access road. The 7-0 vote authorizes funding for a comprehensive geotechnical drilling program, along with related hydrolog- ic, engineering, permitting and access activities. The work is expected to take place during the 2026 and 2027 field seasons and represents a critical step toward developing a final, constructible design for the road. For a project as large and remote as West Susitna, the drilling program is more than another round of field stud- ies. It will provide the detailed information engineers need to design bridge foundations, determine the best locations for construction material sites, size major culverts and refine the road alignment. “This is the work that turns a route on a map into a road that can actually be built,” said AIDEA Deputy Executive
Director Brandon Brefczynski. “The Board’s unanimous action keeps the project on schedule for the upcoming field seasons and moves us another step closer to unlocking one of the most promising resource corridors in the state.” The geotechnical program will examine proposed bridge locations along the alignment, including major crossings of the Skwentna River. Seismic velocity surveys will be conducted at bridge sites to provide additional informa- tion needed for foundation design. Crews also will investigate potential material sites that could provide gravel and fill for road construction, as well as locations for trail overcrossings and large culverts. Because much of the proposed route is in remote coun- try, the work will require specialized logistics. Drill rigs and crews are expected to be moved between sites by heli- copter, allowing AIDEA and its partners to gather critical information across the proposed corridor.
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