AASHTO Journal, 24 July 2015
Two major roadway projects in Alaska were cleared to advance their planning this month, after the administration of Gov. Bill Walker lifted an order that had stopped spending on the development work, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported.
Walker had taken office Dec. 1 amid a time of stress for oil-dependent state finances as oil prices were plunging. On Dec. 26, he ordered a halt to spending on six large infrastructure projects — including a dam and natural gas pipeline as well as planned transportation work – pending a review of their costs and obligations.
At the time, reports said the state could be required to repay millions of federal dollars spent on those projects if they did not proceed.
The Journal of Commerce said memos issued to agencies on July 6, by Alaska Office of Management and Budget Director Pat Pitney, green-lighted additional development work on the Knik Arm bridge and Juneau access road projects, plus a hydroelectric dam.
“Each of the memos notes that once authorized work is completed and immediate goals are met the projects will be evaluated in the context of the state fiscal environment and competing major capital projects at that time,” the story said.
The Journal, citing a Department of Transportation and Public Facilities spokeswoman, said ADOT&PF work for the Knik Arm bridge project “will pretty much pick up where it left off when work stopped in December. That work includes securing funding and a key remaining environmental permit.”
In early 2014, the story said, the cost of building the 1.7-mile bridge and over 4 miles of connections between Anchorage and Point MacKenzie was estimated at $782 million. The Pitney memo, the Journal reported, said moving forward with existing state appropriations would give Alaska up to 20 years for the project without having to repay federal funds already spent.
The state DOT can now seek a federal low-cost TIFIA loan of $300 million for the bridge, and finish permit requirements. Meanwhile, the six-month spending halt probably pushed back the start of construction to at least 2017, it said.
The Juneau access road, expected to cost $574 million, would be a 48-mile extension of the Glacier Highway north of Juneau.
A Pitney memo to ADOT&PF Commissioner Marc Luiken, the story explained, said spending $900,000 remaining in general fund appropriations for the project should permit completion of a supplemental environment impact statement and ensure the state would not have to repay $27 million in federal investments.
