President Donald Trump said via tweet Friday that he will approve a $22 billion freight rail project that will connect Alaska and Alberta, Canada.
Trump tweeted that after recommendations from Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), he will be issuing a presidential permit approving the project.
The project includes the construction of 1,600 miles of rail from Fort McMurray, Alberta, through the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon to the Delta Junction in Alaska, connecting with already existing rail lines and continue through to Anchorage. The rail line would also connect Alaska to the rest of the lower 48 states. The railway would move cargo like oil, potash and ore, container goods, and perhaps passengers.
“The Government of Alberta is glad to see the approval of the A2A rail project in the United States,” Christine Myatt, a spokesperson for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, said. “We support the development of trade corridors that can unlock new markets for Alberta’s products.”
The project now faces environmental impact reviews and regulatory permitting. Earlier this year, the A2A Rail commissioned an engineering firm to begin surveying land in Alberta along the proposed route. It said it planned on beginning parts of the process like land clearing, fencing, and access road preparation in the province over the next three to six months.
A2A Rail has said that if built, the project will create more than 18,000 jobs for Canadian workers and bring $60 billion to the country’s GDP through 2040.