The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today issued a Department of the Army permit to the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) to construct the Port MacKenzie Rail Extension project. The permit, issued under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, authorizes the railroad to permanently fill 95.8 acres of wetlands to construct a new rail line approximately 35.8 miles long. The new rail line will connect into the existing main rail line just south of Houston, Alaska, and end at Port MacKenzie. The existing main line runs from Seward through Anchorage to Fairbanks.