MAT-SU �”� Plans to build a rail spur between Alaska Railroad’s main line and Point MacKenzie have passed a crucial checkpoint as the federal government selected a contractor to draft an environmental impact statement, the Mat-Su Borough reports.

The $300 million extension, a joint project between the Borough and Alaska Railroad, will bring freight from the state’s Interior to the Borough’s fledgling port, Borough spokeswoman Patty Sullivan said.

Sullivan said that, ultimately, contractor ICF International will look at all facets of the project and how it will affect the community and environment. When all the information is in, the contractor will recommend a route. The federal Surface Transportation Board recommended ICF from a list of approved contractors, Sullivan said. The $10 million environmental impact statement report will be paid for by the State of Alaska.

The Borough has already performed some work examining potential routes and came up with three main lines and a variety of connection options for a total of eight possible routes, Sullivan said. The extension will meet the main line somewhere between Meadow Lakes and north of Willow, where it runs close to the Parks Highway.

The Borough has not yet recommended a particular route, Sullivan said, although there are fears in the community the Borough favors one over another. She hopes those will be put to rest as IFC starts work on its statement.

“People, if they have concerns that there was a favored route, that would evaporate because they would have this independent party taking down all their concerns,” she said.

Public comments about the Borough’s proposed routes were all included in a packet of information the Borough and the railroad sent to the Surface Transportation Board on Monday, Sullivan said.

Assemblywoman Cindy Bettine, whose District 5 includes Point MacKenzie and large parts of the proposed routes, said many of her constituents have expressed concerns about the possible routes.

“They want to make sure that their property values, lifestyle is all included in the EIS,” Bettine said.

One route, which on Borough documents appeared to be the cheapest, particularly concerned residents there, Bettine said.

“Alaska Railroad does not just let you build a driveway across a train track,” she said.

Still, Bettine said she is an advocate of the rail project.

“We desperately need it for our port to be viable,” she said, adding it’s really a statewide project that will reduce shipping costs and make limestone and other minerals viable to develop. “That’s the reason we have all this legislative support from all these legislators in the Interior.”

It is also important to keep in mind that Borough taxpayers won’t be shouldering the cost of the rail line, which will be paid for through federal bonds, she said.

Sullivan said that the Borough has been considering funding sources for the estimated $300 million project, but nothing has been decided.