Young targets funds

MAT-SU -- U.S. Representative Don Young, in his third year of six as chair of the U.S. House Transportation Committee, is in a good position to get things done for Alaska, but he said he can't do it alone.

The Knik Arm Crossing, a project estimated to cost $1 to $2 billion, shares the top seat on Young's list of priorities with another bridge Alaskans have been dreaming about for years -- the Ketchikan bridge that would link the Southeast town to its airport. Young said although the chances are good he can secure funding for the two projects, he will need the support of Alaskans to get the job done. But it was the Knik Arm Crossing he spoke about when addressing those attending a luncheon in his honor at the Alaska Job Corps Center last week.

"Anytime you talk to your friends in Fairbanks and Juneau and Anchorage, remind them this isn't a project for the Valley," Young told the audience. "This opens land for people … I can't do this all -- I can't lift this ball just by myself."

Young mentioned the growing shortage of buildable land in the Anchorage bowl, and said the Knik Arm Crossing could open up space for a new cargo facility and further expansion at the Ted Stevens International Airport, as well as other projects that would utilize Port MacKenzie and the industrial area therein. He said in addition to written support from communities around Alaska, it would take a commitment of funding at several levels. General obligation bonds, GARVEE bonds and other funding mechanisms that would utilize a combination of federal, state and local funds would need to be used in order to get the crossing built, Young said.

But bridges weren't the only project on Young's mind.

"I'm going to reintroduce the concept of the Susitna Dam," Young told the audience.

Later, in a press conference, Young told reporters the hydro-electric power generated from a dam on the Susitna River would give Alaska a wealth of power -- enough to bring in businesses currently pushing the boundaries of the grid system in the Northwest states.

"There's no reason we can't have high-tech up here," Young said, noting that the dam would provide "a motherlode of energy."

He lamented it would be too costly to ship the power to Bush villages, where low-cost power could make doing business more profitable.

Young recognized the wealth of energy could mean a large population boom for the state -- something some Alaskans would strongly oppose. But, he said, plans have to be made for the future.

"Some people don't want that, and I would understand that," Young said. "But they're thinking about today. What responsibility do we have to future generations?"

When asked about the potential impact on spawning salmon the dam could have, Young said it would have a minor impact, and mentioned recent fish returns on the Columbia River.

"They were talking about taking the dam out four years ago," Young said. "Last year, they had the largest king salmon run in history."

He suggested the possibility that biologists, when looking for causes of declining salmon returns, didn't take the time to analyze other potential causes and simply stopped looking when the dam presented itself as a possibility for the decline. Dams aren't the enemy, Young said, and they're still acceptable methods of generating energy.

"You're going to find a new dam in California before you find one up here," Young said, referring to California's ongoing energy and water shortage. "But there will be new dams."