Juneau Road a failure on all fronts

Do you ever wonder how our elected leaders go about making decisions on how to spend our money? Given the fight in Juneau over the supplemental budget and the new war over the capital budget, I thought I’d take a moment to share my dream budgeting process with you. I suspect that Governor Palin would agree that this is the way to go about it — either that, or she’d laugh and say I’m an optimist. First, I like to think that our leaders ask if a project being considered deals with an important problem. If it does, they move on to asking if the project actually accomplishes what it sets out to do. Then they ask if it is a cost-effective and efficient way of dealing with the issue. Finally, they ask if this is something the people would want. This simply can’t be the way it’s done. Let’s look at an example — the Juneau Road. This project is supposed to connect our state capital to the rest of the state via a road along Lynn Canal to Haines or Skagway. Well, sort of, but we’ll get to that in a bit. First, does this project deal with an important problem? Not really. Right now, Juneau is connected to the rest of the world by the Alaska Marine Highway, aka ferries. Oh, and planes — Alaska Airlines makes four flights per day between Juneau and Anchorage alone. Second, does the project accomplish its goal? Not at all. The Juneau Road, supposed to connect the capital to the rest of the state in beautiful shimmering asphalt, doesn’t actually connect to anything. Except for a ferry terminal, that is. That’s right, the road intended to end Juneau’s dependence on ferries dead-ends in a ferry terminal about 50 miles outside of town. People will still have to use the Alaska Marine Highway system to access Juneau, but rather than being able to get on and off the ferry at Juneau, they have a 50-mile drive ahead of them first. Third, is this project cost-effective and efficient? Not even close. The road is estimated to cost at least $374 million. With only $105.6 million in federal and state funding secured, there is at least $244.4 million yet to be accounted for. Beyond monetary costs, it is estimated that the road will be closed for more than one month out of the year due to blizzards and avalanches (there are more than 30 major avalanche points along its path). This makes the proposed road among the most expensive and dangerous miles of pavement in the nation, without giving residents any new way to access the capital. Fourth, do the people want this project? Again, the answer is no. The people of Juneau actually voted against this when then-Governor Murkowski was fighting so hard to push the road through. In addition, state Department of Transportation estimates show that only 350 to 650 people are expected to drive on the road per day, at best. To put that in perspective, the Palmer-Wasilla Highway sees about 17,000 cars per day, with that number expected to increase to more than 30,000 per day by 2025. Finally, a poll from November 2007 shows that even if the road is built, flying into Juneau will remain Alaskan’s preferred method of accessing the capital Clearly, the Juneau Road Project fails all four questions. The people have reliable access to and from Juneau now. The project doesn’t end Juneau’s dependence on ferries so much as move the ferries out of sight. The project isn’t a cost-effective and efficient use of our money because it creates a dangerous and very expensive road/ferry hybrid route that few people in the state want and even fewer will use. With so many deserving and pressing infrastructural problems to address in this state, with real resident support behind them, why are our leaders wasting so much time debating this project? Why is DOT pushing to start construction this summer? Please join me in asking Governor Palin and the Legislature to end this Murkowski-era boondoggle once and for all. Kevin Brown is chariman of the Palmer Planning and Zoning Committee.