Road maintenance cuts cause real pain

A Spectrum, by Joseph L. Perkins

Good road conditions are essential in Alaska, especially during the winter months when snow and ice make traveling a particular challenge. The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) has worked hard over the past few years to improve the condition of many Mat-Su roads. This winter, the roads will not be maintained at the high standard we think you deserve. Be particularly careful when you drive. Because of cuts in our maintenance budget, snow removal from Alaska's highways will be delayed and travel will be slower.

Our proposed budget included enough money for annual increased fixed costs, such as utility, labor, equipment and fuel increases. This budget request would have kept our service at last years level. We described -- repeatedly -- in written correspondence and budget committee testimony how cuts would hurt specific services. We told the Legislature their budget cuts would force us to cut staff, equipment and supplies at the Willow Station. Before the budget was finalized, we wrote,

"Snow and ice control will be delayed resulting in more snow on the roads, longer travel times and reduced speeds. This action will have the following consequences.

1) Two equipment operators will be laid off.

2) The Parks Highway milepost 52 to milepost 99 will be maintained by only two operators.

3) During the winter, commercial truck traffic and the motoring public will be impacted by slower response times for snow removal and ice control. Also, snow removal at the Willow Airport will not be done until the Parks Highway is clear.

Residents of Palmer, Willow, and Chulitna may have to wait approximately 24 to 36 hours longer after snowstorms until areas are plowed."

The Legislature denied our road, highway and facilities maintenance budget request and the Department was forced to cut services throughout the state. Our final budget was $6.5 million less than what is needed to maintain the roads at last year's service level. These cuts have real and significant consequences. Some say that DOT&PF actually saw a $23 million budget increase this year. True. But the increase was in federal funds and other funds that can't be used for road maintenance. Road and airport construction is done with federal dollars, not state dollars. We are prohibited from using federal dollars for pothole repairs or winter maintenance.

To implement the budget, our highest priority is to maintain maximum service to all Alaskans, but we had to decide which services to reduce or stop. The choices were neither easy nor politically motivated.

We cut administrative positions (including a deputy commissioner) and discretionary travel by 61 percent. Since nearly 90 percent of our general fund budget is for maintenance, we had to also lay off highly trained maintenance operators across the state, including Willow. We reduced or stopped maintenance on some little used rural airports, and stopped maintaining some low traffic volume roads. Three maintenance stations were closed.

Next year we will ask the new Legislature for the money needed to bring maintenance service levels back to where they were prior to the cut. I hope the Legislature will also support a supplemental budget in January to allow our crews back on the road for the remainder of this winter. You can help by asking your legislator to support the DOT&PF budgets.

Joseph L. Perkins is the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation.