Built to the east of the Port of Anchorage, which required new landscaping and decontamination of soil, a side-by-side rail from the port access road that connects with the port's other rail access is now complete.

"The only thing left to do this week is the installation of the lighting," said Kevin Bruce, spokesman for the Port of Anchorage.

The rails will facilitate 40 railroad cars on each rail for loading up to 80 cars at the port.

Previously, cargo had to be offloaded by truck and transferred to the rail yard at Ship Creek. Now cargo can be offloaded from ships directly to the cars parked on rails behind the Totem Ocean Trailer Express and the Horizon Line yards. The rails extend to the northeast portion of the port.

According to Bruce, the property was previously a military defense fuel tank farm used by the U.S. Army up until the 1964 earthquake. "The 40-acre location was contaminated and we had to burn the dirt to be able to reclaim it," Bruce said.

The newly landscaped area east of the port and northeast of Government Hill is closed to the public and not zoned for residential use, thus closing it to further land speculation, according to Bruce.

The new tracks feature cement ties and rail clips that requires less time for installation. The rails are also more stable for heavy and high-speed use.

Also this year the port installed a $2.5 million floating dock for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety and Security Team. The floating dock extends out into the inlet south of the wharf and loading docks at the port.

"We have people tying up to this all the time, but the dock is closed to the general public," Bruce said. The Coast Guard keeps Zodiacs and skiffs tied up to the floating dock ready to respond to an incident at any time, according to Bruce.

Next year the port will undertake filling a 24-acre parcel of land north of the port that will extend the dock area north of its existing location.

The project, estimated to cost $22 million, would require filling the area with approximately 13 million cubic yards of fill. According to Bruce, some of the fill will come from the north side of the north-south runway on Elmendorf Air Force Base, and the rest from the port itself.

An environmental assessment, which includes a fish-sampling plan, is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 15, allowing the port to put the project out to bid. An environmental assessment is also being done by the Bureau of Land Management and Elmendorf Air Force Base.

"This project will be out of our client's and the operator's way," Bruce said.