Transportation Plans for Fast Growth

Every year some 400 residents visit a transportation fair on a weeknight. A congested school corridor has recently become the central platform for a bid for State House. Summer construction delays once invoked the popular bumper sticker plea: “Please Lord, Help Me Get Through Wasilla.”

In just three years, the Borough has built $103 million in local road projects.

Nowhere else in Alaska has grown like the Mat-Su. Our school enrollment grew 42 percent in 15 years, while communities like Anchorage shrank by 2 percent and Alaska overall by 1 percent.

With all that growth it’s time to update the plan for our transportation system.  Efficient transportation underpins a robust economy. A long range transportation plan is underway that will lay out the transportation grid to the year 2035. And you are asked to be a part of it.

The Borough is hosting three public open houses and an online open house for the draft 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). Please attend and learn about the Borough’s current and future transportation needs, and submit comments on the plan’s proposed transportation improvements and solutions for roadways, trails, transit, and more. The final plan will provide recommendations for how the Borough can address current and future transportation needs in a reduced funding climate.

Public meetings will be held:

• Tuesday, March 28 in Sutton at the Sutton Library, 11301 N. Chickaloon Way

• Wednesday, March 29 in Houston at Fire Station 9-2, 12176 W. Birch Road

• Thursday, March 30 in Wasilla at Fire Station 6-1 TR #2, 101 W. Swanson Avenue

All meetings will be held between 5 and 8 pm.

 An online version of the open house is available through May 12, 2017 at http://msblrtp2035.hdrgateway.com/.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is the fastest growing area in Alaska. Its transportation network ranges from local residential streets to limited access freeways, trails and sidewalks, and transit, rail, marine, and air systems. The LRTP represents the long-term vision for the Borough’s multi-modal transportation system. It was last updated in 2007.

Visit http://msblrtp2035.hdrgateway.com/ for more information on the public and online open house events or contact Jessica Smith, Mat-Su Borough Transportation Planner, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 907-861-8514.

Disabled persons needing reasonable accommodation in order to participate should contact the Borough ADA coordinator at 861-8432 at least one week in advance of the public meetings.