Don’t boondoggle state transportation

The recent article about the Mat-Su Borough’s $1.2 billion of unfunded road projects (Feb. 5 Frontiersman) could have appeared in any paper across the state. Transportation projects that address safety and congestion concerns haven’t been funded while unnecessary pet projects, like Murkowski’s Juneau Road, will be built this summer.

The Juneau road is the “road to nowhere” because it leaves Juneau only to dead-end at an unpopulated river delta. At road’s end, a new ferry terminal would be constructed, as well as new ferries to Haines and Skagway. So, despite all the rhetoric about Juneau being the only U.S. state capital without road access, everyone would still need to ride a ferry or fly to get there.

Each of the Mat-Su’s unfunded road projects would likely serve more people per hour than this $374 million project would accommodate each day. The state Department of Transportation’s Juneau estimate is a daily traffic of 380 vehicles compared to about 15,000 daily cars on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. And, if the current price tag is as accurate as DOT’s estimate for a scaled-down version of the road, expect costs to soar to $748 million.

The Juneau road is yet another Murkowski boondoggle that Governor Palin needs to undo, freeing up millions of transportation dollars for necessary projects around the state.

Nancy Berland

Haines