Knik Arm Bridge should be built now

The June 25 decision by the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions Policy Committee to delay the Knik Arm Bridge project until 2018 is disappointing and wrong.

I fully support moving forward with building the bridge, and cringe at the reported $44 million already spent on the project without one shovel of dirt being turned.

Moves should be made now to finalize the bridge’s decisions, tie up loose ends and begin construction. I made that clear by testifying in front of the AMATS board Thursday at Anchorage City Hall where I reiterated my wholehearted support for the project.

Hopefully, as I suggested to them, KABATA chair Michael Foster and Deputy Commissioner of Transportation Frank Richards will go to Florida and see first hand the Dames Point Bridge. Word is these folks can build our Knik bridge for $200 million. And like Alaska, they too dealt with Beluga whales and tides in the project area.

I also believe a bridge from Anchorage to Point MacKenzie, in the Mat-Su Borough, will benefit both areas. After all, some of the Mat-Su is part of the Anchorage Bowl.

From a congestion stand-point, a bridge will open more land, providing somewhere for Anchorage’s bulging population to spill.

The Mat-Su would benefit from the bridge by having another route to move traffic, build our port area, and revive the Knik area, which is a very large area, I might add.

Regardless, the Mat-Su should have been allowed more of a chance to weigh in on the project. The cities of Houston and Wasilla are spot-on in taking the matter to court seeking an injunction.

My chief-of-staff Marilyn Lane and I sat in the gallery in the Anchorage Superior Court on Friday, listening to the arguments from Houston and Wasilla in front of Judge Sen Tan. There, we learned that since the bridge is funded with federal money, a rule dictates only municipalities with 50,000 or more people can chime in.

I’m baffled as to why the Mat-Su Borough and the city of Palmer didn’t raise their voices in the matter.

Some in leadership positions in Anchorage have said the bridge is an Anchorage project. I disagree.

The Mat-Su will be affected on the “other end” of the bridge. Traffic will flow through areas near Big Lake and Houston and Wasilla, causing those towns to change and adapt to the new pattern.

Furthermore, some residents living in the more southern areas of the borough — like those along Knik-Goose Bay Road — could benefit from a shorter ride time to Anchorage with the bridge. Not to mention the opening of the Goose Creek Correctional Facility, which will bring 700 full- and part-time employees to Point MacKenzie.

With Alaska in its 50th year, now is the time to think forward instead of concentrating on the present. Transportation projects like the Knik Arm Bridge should be addressed now to avoid a scramble to catch up when its too late and the population is suffering.

Sen. Linda Menard represents District G in the Mat-Su Valley.