Valley boon: jobs galore may come to the Valley with a new prison approved by Gov. Murkowski. It may come with a construction boon second only to the oil pipeline.

When construction of a new prison in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough begins in 2007, it will be the start of the largest construction project in Alaska since the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. And when work is completed in 2010, the medium-security prison will be the largest building in the state--home

"Imagine a large Wal-Mart. Then place six of them side-by-side, and you'll have an idea of the size of the prison complex," said Alaska Department of Corrections Commissioner Marc Antrim. The new prison, he explained, will put up to 20 acres-as much as 800,000 square feet-under one roof.

ECONOMIC BOOST

"Not only will this prison generate 400 to 600 full-time, good-paying jobs for at least 40 years, but the support services and related business outside the prison will provide an additional economic boost," said Matanuska-Susitna Borough Manager John Duffy. "Families of prison employees will be moving here, buying homes and groceries, and generally adding to the economic prosperity of the area."

The new prison is a joint project of the Department of Corrections, the Mat-Su Borough and the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. Under a road map set out by Senate Bill 65, sponsored by Mat-Su Valley Sen. Lyda Green and passed in 2004, the Borough will provide land for the prison, and will finance the approximately $330 million project by issuing bonds that will be paid off through lease payments made by the Department of Corrections over 25 years, after which the state will take ownership. AHFC, with its expertise in a multitude of construction projects around the state, will serve as the project manager.

APPROVED IN AUGUST 2006

The project received its formal go-ahead in August when the three parties entered into an agreement with DLR Group and RISE Alaska for both engineering work for site selection and preparation of a technical document to define the department's requirements for the new prison.

This document will lead to a request for bids for design and construction of the prison under a design-build contract. It is expected that the contract will be finalized and approved early in 2007, with groundbreaking set for spring 2007. DLR Group and RISE Alaska will manage the project through completion.