Plan Overview

Port MacKenzie is ideally suited for handling bulk materials, serving the local communities and providing critical tide water access to the interior of Alaska. Port MacKenzie provides the ability to easily facilitate substantial growth in Alaskan export capacity to complement existing port operations that may be limited by local land, capacity or public restrictions. Port MacKenzie provides large upland areas of currently undeveloped land that are adjacent or in close proximity to the existing deep draft dock and barge dock. As such, bulk materials can be offloaded, stored, reclaimed and shipped via rail, truck, pipeline, barge and ship without prohibitive constraints and growth limitations.

The Borough is constructing a 32-mile long rail link that will connect the Port to the Alaska Railroad System. When complete, the rail line extension will provide the gateway tide water access to Interior Alaska. The Port will provide the ability to efficiently move materials between ship, rail, truck and barge as needed. An existing bulk material handling conveyor, ship loader and deep water mooring system provide the ability to load any size ship with wood chips, coal, limestone, cement, bulk fuel, mineral concentrates and other commodities. This master plan provides utility corridors with additional conveyor, piping, rail and truck access between the dock and upland areas.

Plan Justification

This master plan provides utility corridors with additional conveyor, piping, rail and truck access between the dock and upland areas.The plan accommodates mineral, petrochemical, forest products, fabrication, power generation, and manufacturing industries in a productive and economic manner. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has prepared this 2016 master plan as an update to the 2011 Point MacKenzie Port Master Plan. The plan  provides land use designations for future land development and use. It also includes guidelines for future port improvements and development to meet cargo demand, community acceptance and environmental compatibility that will complement other modes of local, state and international transportation through 2031.