Gov. Dunleavy wants to link $175 million in funding for Anchorage and Mat-Su ports

Anchorage Daily News
By Zaz Hollander

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is proposing a funding injection to shore up Anchorage’s bustling Port of Alaska but linked with the nearly idle port 5 miles across Knik Arm in the governor’s home base of Mat-Su.

The Dunleavy administration is suggesting the Municipality of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough look at forming a new regional port authority to decide how to spend $175 million in general obligation bond funds on repairs needed at both.

The so-called Knik Arm Port Infrastructure project currently makes up nearly two-thirds of a larger statewide $325.1 million GO bond package Dunleavy included in a state budget proposal unveiled in December. Any package faces revision and approval by the Legislature before going before voters in November.

The early stage port funding proposal is already hitting challenges: no port authority exists, there are no immediate plans for Anchorage and Mat-Su assemblies to discuss it, and the general idea is already raising questions among key legislators.

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https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-su/2022/01/30/gov-dunleavy-wants-to-link-175-million-in-funding-for-anchorage-and-mat-su-ports-it-may-be-a-tough-sell/