The Alaska Department of Transportation will conduct an independent study of the route that will be used to haul ore from the Manh Choh mine near Tetlin to the processing facility at Fort Knox.
DOT will also create a Transportation Advisory Committee comprised of representatives who will take part in the analysis, review the work and make final recommendations.
There has been public pushback over Kinross’s proposed mining development — Manh Choh — and its plans to truck ore from the mine near Tetlin to a mill near Fort Knox. According to DOT Spokesperson Danielle Tessen, there was “not one major or specific community concern” that prompted the review, but instead overall concerns about safety in general along the corridor. She added that the goal of both the analysis and the committee is to address the public’s concerns about Kinross Gold’s route, which is a 240-mile long stretch from the Manh Choh mine to Fort Knox.
The analysis will allow the department to “address public concerns on this important highway corridor,” DOT Commissioner Ryan Anderson said. Specifically, the analysis will allow the public a more structured planning process to evaluate the impact of increased traffic in the area, according to a DOT news release.
DOT will hire a contractor to conduct the analysis, which will look at safety and traffic impacts as well as a future traffic forecast. Tessen explained that the independent review is not an unusual undertaking.
Planning studies of corridors are “not a new concept for DOT&PF in the Northern Region,” and it is common to have an independent consultant lead these studies. For example, she said, the department is currently doing a corridor study on the Parks Highway between Healy and Cantwell.
Tessen said the department is hoping to begin the process soon, with work on the analysis likely occurring during the summer through the end of 2022. While she said they are moving quickly, the department has not yet hired a contractor or assembled the advisory committee. DOT anticipates that the review will run through the end of the year, but Tessen explained they will have a better idea once a contractor has been selected.
Once assembled, the committee will include representatives from a variety of entities, including Alaska Native villages along the route, mine proponents, tourism companies and governmental agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Federal Highway Administration. The Transportation Advisory Committee meetings will be open to the public.
Anderson explained that the committee and the analysis will be important tools in place to “assure the public that we have balanced the needs and have the right plan in place” for both this project as well as potential future developments.
“We believe we can have both safe highways and resource development in Alaska and these important partnerships and processes allow us to listen and find solutions,” Tessen said.
Read More: DOT: Independent study Kinross ore trucking route will happen | Alaska News