Roads proposal gets mixed reviews

Gov. Frank Murkowski on Tuesday announced a transportation initiative that could mean $21 million for capital projects in the Mat-Su. The governor presented his plan to government officials and the press at a Department of Transportation maintenance shed in Anchorage.

Aimed at reducing traffic congestion, the proposed improvements in the Valley include expedited construction of the Bogard Road extension, expansion of the Palmer/Wasilla Highway and preparation for a new multi-modal alternate Parks Highway and Alaska Railroad corridor through Wasilla.

The governor's proposal includes a total of $108 million for projects throughout the state; the funds will come from a portion of the permanent fund that is not used for dividends, according to Becky Hultberg, press spokesperson for the governor. That revenue is generated in a special permanent fund account that resulted from a 1989 settlement between the state and North Slope oil producers. A stipulation of the settlement was that the revenue from that account could never be included in dividend dispersals. According to Hultberg, the settlement funds have " … just been sitting in the permanent fund, growing and growing. The interest from the funds has never been expended. It's a little subset fund that's just been sitting there accruing earnings."

During the press conference, Murkowski said part of the intent of this proposal is to reduce congestion in critical areas. The plan will also improve access to resources, according to the governor, improving the state's economic base.

The proposal has been received with optimistic caution so far.

Rep. Carl Gatto, R-District 13, said the proposed improvements were needed, but he added that other important improvements and needs did not appear on the governor's map. He mentioned the changing traffic patterns around the Valley's new hospital, and also that other improvements to east/west traffic flow in the core area would affect congestion on the Palmer/Wasilla Highway.

"I've thought a lot about this," Gatto said after the announcement. "The fact that the Amerada Hess money is available to be used is history. We all know that. The question is, am I in favor of all the projects proposed?" He said that some of the recommendations for improvements in the Bush might not be economical, and he wondered if that money could be better spent somewhere else.

"I have to look at each [project] independently and say, 'Are we going to spend a million dollars on a road so a mining operation can make a half million? I don't think we need to do that." Still, Gatto said he'd be willing to make compromises if it meant securing funds for important work in the Valley.

Gatto also said he's not convinced widening the Palmer/Wasilla Highway is the most cost-effective approach.

"The Palmer/Wasilla is surrounded by very expensive commercial property," Gatto said. "Also, the right of way on the Palmer/Wasilla is very limited. By '07 it could simply be too expensive to do that work." Gatto said that the Bogard extension is the more cost-effective approach to achieve a good result.

"You can either make the roads more hospitable to traffic," he said, "or you can take some of the traffic away. A lot of the traffic on the Palmer/Wasilla is just people trying to get to Wasilla or to Palmer. A lot of that traffic could use Bogard, and that would reduce the congestion on the Palmer/Wasilla." Gatto said once the traffic load is reduced, some turning bays and traffic lights might be all that's needed to mitigate congestion on that major artery.

Murkowski said the projects were selected because they had become critical, but that they were not high priorities for STIP (Statewide Transportation Improvement Program) funds. STIP is a federal roads program, and Murkowski said the changing priorities, along with a significant amount of red tape, would delay these important projects. He said virtually every other state has a state-funded roads program, and that his proposal would enable Alaska to apply more control to its transportation needs and speed up the construction process.

"We think this is a creative alternative for funding these kinds of projects," Hultberg said. "We have a federal process through STIP, but it's a lengthy process," she said. "People get frustrated every year as they watch their projects go up and down in priority. This is a way the state can take control of some of those projects. It will have an impact on people's ability to travel where they want to go."

Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-District H, said it's probably premature to have specific discussions about where the funding for projects will be located.

"When you look at this process in the macro sense," Huggins said, "that's a wholesome sum of money. The governor made his proposals about where the money should come from, and in the legislative process we'll take those proposals into account. But by and large, we have to make ends meet. In the end we will spend the people's money wisely."

Huggins, who is the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the governor's proposal is a good one, but that everything on the proposal may not be possible.

"We have to make sure we can match the dollars to our appetite," Huggins said. "We can't go into a spending binge. This is a large menu, and right now the waters are muddied as to where the monies will come from. As we go through the process, that will clear up."

Huggins added that the inter-modal corridor aspect of the proposal is critical, and that its enhancement of the viability of Port McKenzie will make the Mat-Su a major player in the construction of a gas pipeline.

That pipeline is at the top of Huggins' priority list, and he said discussions about revenues will be much easier after the pipeline is operational.