Anchorage Transportation Decision-Makers Move Knik Arm Bridge Construction After 2018;
Organizations Support Move Which Will Provide Greater Scrutiny of Bridge Spending

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lois Epstein, 907.929.9372

Alli Harvey, ACE, 907.274.3662

Susanne DiPietro, GHCC, 907.277.4351

Anchorage, AK – Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS), a state-local committee with decision-making authority over Anchorage transportation expenditures, today voted unanimously to move the Knik Arm Bridge from a short-term to a long-term project in the city’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), thus preventing bridge construction before 2018.  This decision was supported by a unanimous vote of the Anchorage Assembly on June 24 and a unanimous vote of the AMATS Technical Advisory Committee on June 18.  In another advisory vote, the Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on June 15 to remove the bridge from the LRTP.

The Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA), a state agency, was created by the Alaska legislature in 2003.  KABATA announced potential private investors in the toll bridge in early 2007 and issued its final federal Environmental Impact Statement in late 2007 but since then has been unable to finalize a financial plan for the $700 million bridge whose cost will be $1.5 billion or more with the bridge’s eventual build-out to four lanes and a connection to Anchorage’s highway system rather than to downtown streets.  Additionally, federal agencies are unlikely to permit the current bridge design due to marine mammal and siltation concerns, and an even more expensive bridge design likely will be needed.

“There are many significant, unanswered questions with this bridge,” stated Lois Epstein, an engineer and Director of the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, a non-profit transportation watchdog organization.  “For example, if there are inadequate toll revenues will the state be responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in construction and operating costs?  Today’s wise decision by AMATS allows higher priority transportation projects to proceed in the near-term, including fixing existing road and bridge infrastructure.”

“Alaska Center for the Environment supports AMATS’ decision, however our members still are concerned about the very expensive Knik Arm Bridge project,” said Alli Harvey, Sustainable Communities Coordinator.  “There are better and cheaper ways to address Glenn Highway traffic such as buying additional commuter vans and operating commuter rail, and those options should be pursued before the bridge.”

“AMATS’ decision gives the city time to implement the Anchorage 2020 plan.  While we are still skeptical of the value of the bridge, the delay allows KABATA to rethink the project to see if it can gain greater community support,” added Susanne DiPietro, a member of the Government Hill Community Council and board member of Anchorage Citizens Coalition, a community planning organization.

Testimony offered by youth at the Anchorage Assembly about the bridge was overwhelmingly anti-bridge, with youth citing the need for improved public transportation and their aversion to being burdened with the long-term cost of the project as key concerns.

Anchorage’s LRTP will be updated in 2011 and 2015.  At that time, KABATA’s progress toward answering critical questions will be reviewed by AMATS and the Assembly, as will regional progress toward reducing traffic congestion on the Glenn Highway (one of the key rationales for the bridge).  KABATA currently is holding over $60 million in funds that cannot now be used for other transportation projects in Anchorage or statewide.  In its 2011 and 2015 updates of the LRTP, AMATS can decide whether to remove the bridge from the LRTP, change it back to a short-term project, or stick with 2018 or later for construction