Despite Advisory Committee Recommendations, AMATS Reverses Previous Decision; Knik Arm Bridge Project to Move Ahead in the Short-Term Says the State, Mayor

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lois Epstein,907.929.9372

Anchorage, AK – The decision-making body for transportation projects, the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS) Policy Committee, today voted 3-2 to keep the Knik Arm Bridge project in the short-term portion of the Anchorage Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The three advisory committees to the Policy Committee – the Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission, the AMATS Technical Advisory Committee, and the Anchorage Assembly – each voted in 2009 and 2010 to remove the bridge from the list of short-term projects.

The five-member Policy Committee is composed of representatives from the Alaska Departments of Transportation and Environmental Conservation, Mayor Sullivan, and two representatives from the Anchorage Assembly. The Assembly representatives (Flynn and Selkregg) voted to make the bridge a long-term project, i.e., post-2018 construction, because key financial and technical questions were not answered by the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA) during its testimony before the advisory committees.

Before issuing their recommendations, the AMATS advisory committees considered the following critical information: 1) KABATA did not provide a simple spreadsheet showing its financial plan including likely debt service yet its board urged the committees to accept its prediction of long-term revenues greatly exceeding costs, 2) KABATA used bridge traffic and toll revenue estimates based on overly-optimistic growth projections developed by its Texas-based contractor; for 2030, the Mat-Su Borough population projection KABATA used is nearly 50% higher than the latest UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) projection, and 3) KABATA and a state-hired independent expert said state backing likely will be needed by the project; DOT today said one possibility may be using money from the Permanent Fund.

"This project does not have a chance of financial closure without significant state money. It's outrageous that the bridge was not moved to the long-term by AMATS so that key financial and technical questions could be answered before proceeding," stated Lois Epstein, an engineer and Director of the non-profit Alaska Transportation Priorities Project.

KABATA has spent nearly $50 million to date on project planning, staff salaries, and office expenses. The state currently is reserving an additional $60 million in transportation funds for KABATA which is money that could be used for other transportation projects in Anchorage or statewide.

In June 2009 the Policy Committee voted unanimously to move the bridge project to the long-term portion of the LRTP. The cities of Houston and Wasilla and KABATA sued on procedural grounds and – though no fault was found – AMATS agreed to redo its decision-making process. KABATA has developed no new information since the June 2009 vote however Governor Parnell now has two representatives on the Policy Committee and Mayor Sullivan sits on the committee.

For more information, see www.knikbridgefacts.org and www.aktransportation.org/files/projectseasy10.pdf.