Petersville residents get promise of a paved road

MAT-SU -- In recent meetings with upper Susitna Valley residents, the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation guaranteed blacktop for residents along Petersville Road next summer, and more projects for the area may be on the way, if the GARVEE bond program is passed during the upcoming legislative session.

In an effort to keep abreast of the transportation needs facing this area, DOT Commissioner Joe Perkins and state Rep. Beverly Masek, R-Willow, who sits on the House Transportation Committee, try to make a yearly road trip through the north end of the Valley to discuss road issues that may get less attention than those in the core area. Trapper Creek roads were the item of discussion on this year's seventh-annual DOT road trip.

Last week, Perkins caught an early-morning flight from Juneau to meet with Masek; DOT's Murph O'Brien, assistant to the director; Dave Post, DOT's Mat-Su area planner; and the Frontiersman.

The troupe proceeded to navigate the snow-encrusted roads to arrive at Mile 15 Knik-Goose Bay Road, where a cold but enthusiastic group of Joe Redington Sr. fans waited to take part in the dedication of the Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Trail.

The honorary designation extends from Mile 1 Knik-Goose Bay Road to Mile 15, where Redington and his wife, Vi, owned a cabin. Redington, the "Father of the Iditarod," mushed for many years in the area. His family maintains the Redington kennel at Mile 12.5, and several family members still live in the area.

"I know Joe would have been really pleased," Vi Redington said at the dedication, "It covers the land that we've always been on."

Several others were on hand to take part in the dedication, including many members of the Redington family, their friends, and others in the mushing community.

"I think it's a very good thing that all of this energy has been put into memorializing Joe in a way that fits," Stan Hooley, Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) executive director, said during a short speech at the dedication.

After waiting for a break in the frosty morning traffic to snake colorful ribbons across the road, those in attendance gathered behind the ribbon to officially dedicate the road. Pieces of blue and yellow ribbon can now be found in the homes of the attendees, and large, golden, state-owned scissors will soon adorn the walls of the ITC headquarters.

After the dedication was complete, it was back to the toasty DOT Suburban and back on the road for the commissioner and the rest of the party -- next stop, lunch at the Big Su Lodge.

With hunger sated, the troupe moved on to the next engagement, meeting Petersville Road residents at Mile 6.9 Petersville Road for a discussion and driving tour.

Residents along Petersville Road, while living on the edge of comforts such as electricity and gas, are increasing in number every year.

Along with the growth in residents, there has been a spike in the number of people visiting the area to hunt or use snowmachines in the area.

The added traffic on a road that currently only boasts three miles of pavement is causing headaches in the form of flat tires for the residents living in the area.

"I had three flat tires in one day," said Tammy Nilsen during a later meeting with Trapper Creek residents.

Petersville Road residents had expected that a portion of their road would be paved this year -- or at least treated with calcium chloride to cut down on the dust and help the gravel hold together.

In fact, during the last legislative session, Masek was able to pass an appropriation of $125,000 that would have helped pay for upgrades on the road.

"That was the first road appropriation in my eight years [as commissioner]," Perkins said.

But, O'Brien said, after speaking to the community council about the money and what it could be spent on, the council agreed to hold the money until the following year, when the road would be paved anyway, through the state's Gravel-to-Black program.

The program, Perkins explained, takes roads of good quality and paves them.

The paving saves the state significant money in maintenance costs over the life of the road. It's a program, Perkins said, he has been running for the past four years -- and one that has shown success -- but there is one condition.

"We allocate $15 million every year statewide," Perkins said. "We don't touch a road unless we have to do very minimal work on it."

Petersville Road, from Mile 3.3 to 7.7, is slated for paving under that program next year. When residents tried to pin Perkins down on exactly when the project would begin, he deferred to O'Brien, who explained that it is high on the priority list.

The Willow-area roads, O'Brien said, will likely see the first paving, so the work is done before the fishing season is in full swing. Petersville is, at this point, next on the list, he said.

Perkins assured the residents they will get what has been promised -- and, with the $125,000 appropriation, they may be surprised at how much they get.

"You'll be paved next summer," Perkins said. "I think you're going to get a lot more out of that $125,000 than you would have."

Perkins said Petersville Road will likely be paved up to the 18-mile marker, but that is going to be a big-ticket project -- one that, if it is to be done, will have to come from an appropriation through the GARVEE bond program.

GARVEE stands for Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle bonds. The bonds are repayable with federal-aid highway funds -- funds distributed to each state through taxes paid at the gas pump.

Alaska receives around $400 million each year in federal-aid highway funds, which goes to fund programs on the State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP). STIP projects are determined each year according to need and then approved by the Legislature.

The final amount of the money that would be bonded through GARVEE bonds has not yet been determined, but a project list introduced to the Legislature during its 2000 session listed approximately $350 million in projects, some $70 to $80 million of which would fund Mat-Su projects.

That money would be paid back over the next 15 to 18 years with approximately 10 percent of the amount of federal highway funds received each year.

The bill, after its introduction last year, passed the House with one negative vote. When it reached the Senate, it was stalled in the Senate Transportation Committee by committee chair Sen. John Cowdery, R-Anchorage, and never given a hearing.

Perkins said the GARVEE bonds would allow his department to get up to date. Currently, he said, his department has a 20-year backlog of projects. Every new project is added on top of that backlog, making it difficult to address pending needs as they come up.

Petersville residents also hoped to convince Perkins of the need for more pull-outs along the road to allow recreators to park more safely than simply pulling off the shoulder and unloading their trailers. Mat-Su Borough assembly member Kelly Lankford Ladere said what they were looking for were paid-parking lots that would provide some security and help pay for costs such as refuse services.

While a few pull-outs exist along the road, Perkins said it would be difficult to provide more because of restrictions on the use of federal dollars.

"I can't build anything with federal money that we charge anything for," Perkins said.

The regulation exists, he explained, so states are not able to charge for parking at public rest areas and other similar spots, he explained.

He suggested the residents try to find land suitable for pull-outs, then secure the land's ownership.

Perkins, Masek and the rest of the group headed back to the Suburban for a quick trip across Moose Creek and to a new community under development in the area. After discussing the development and growth of the community, as well as the future needs of the area, it was time to head back to the Parks Highway area for one final meeting with residents from Trapper Creek.

Those at Trapper Creek had many of the same concerns as their neighbors up the road. It was time to pave Petersville Road, they said. But some residents who stopped by the basement of the Methodist church were concerned about another road in the area -- Oil Well Road.

Several miles down the road is the site of the borough's Chijuk Creek timber sale, and the road, owned by the borough, has been improved to allow efficient access to that site.

Trapper Creek resident Jane Medbery said because the road is improved, more people are using it to access roads that were once remote.

"Some of the locals are complaining that the wetlands are being destroyed," Medbery said.

Medbery suggested the state take over maintenance on the road and improve it, since the land was originally owned by the Department of Natural Resources and sold to landowners.

Perkins said the best way to get the road paved or improved to help deal with potential wetlands problems would be to nominate it to the state Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) list, which is compiled every year by the Mat-Su Borough. The list is prioritized, then sent on to DOT, where projects are screened for several key criteria and funded according to that screening process.

"We commit something like around $40 million a year to this program," he said. "It is a tough program to advance projects quickly. If you're going to get it in this competition, you'd better get it in there now."

After discussing other transportation projects going on around the area and the state, it was time to head back to the core area of the Valley, and back to Anchorage for Perkins, who was scheduled to be in Kenai the following day.

All in all, Perkins said, it was refreshing to see the changes from six years ago, when he took his first Valley road tour with Masek. "We are making some headway and we are getting some highways in the Mat-Su Borough in a heck of a lot better shape than they were when we started this business," Perkins said. "I think that the understanding level is a lot higher than when we started out here -- I think this is a good contact for a state agency to have."