Gov. Sean Parnell has decided against appealing a court ruling against the Juneau Access Project, and will instead do what environmental opponents of the Lynn Canal road have suggested all along — study improved ferry service as an alternative.
The decision to abandon the legal appeal and spend as long as two years developing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement goes against the advice of Citizens Pro-Road, the Juneau road advocacy group, but CPR chair Dick Knapp said he supports the governor’s action.
“The fact that the governor took this action shows that he supports the road,” said Knapp, a former commissioner of the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, which has been a strong advocate for the road.
Knapp said road supporters want whichever strategy is most likely to be successful, and Parnell, the Alaska Department of Law, and his old agency are in the best position to make that determination.
Pat Kemp, DOT deputy commissioner for highways, said the additional studies to complete the SEIS would likely take two years.
A Supreme Court appeal would likely take one to two years, and the state would only have a 1 percent chance of the case even being heard by the court, according to the department.
Parnell, in a statement released by the department Wednesday, characterized his decision as moving the road forward.
“The Juneau Access Project is a critical infrastructure project for Juneau and Southeast Alaska. It’s is time to move it ahead,” he said.
The state’s current plan is to build a road 50.8 miles north of Juneau along Lynn Canal to the Katzehin River mouth, where a new ferry terminal would be built to connect to Haines and Skagway with shuttle ferries.
It was most recently estimated to cost nearly half a billion dollars, though annual cost estimate revisions were suspended while court challenges were ongoing. Kemp said the new study will result in a new cost estimate being developed.
Environmental groups, including the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, challenged the project in court, saying a “no build” option was not adequately studied.
Federal District Court Judge John Sedwick said the state should have considered meeting the need for improved transportation in Lynn Canal by using existing ferry resources instead.
The state appealed that decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where it was rejected by a 2-1 vote of a three-judge panel. Alaska then sought a hearing before a full panel, but not a single judge of the appeals court agreed with that request.
That left Alaska with the options of either complying with Sedwick’s ruling or facing the daunting prospect of a successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
SEACC’s Executive Director Lindsey Ketchel said the group was not surprised, but was disappointed, at the strategy Parnell took. She acknowledged that she’d be similarly disappointed had Parnell chosen the Supreme Court appeal.
She said the state needs to abandon some of the expensive projects in pre-development, such as roads to Skagway, Umiat and Nome at a cost of billions of dollars it can’t afford.
Ketchel said she was disappointed in Parnell’s leadership.
“I’d rather have a governor trying to figure out how to get people moving around today with current assets we have here in Southeast and deal with the real issues we need to deal with,” she said.
In addition to the nearly $500 million cost of the Juneau Access Project, the road to prospective oil fields at Umiat is estimated to cost $400 million and the road to Nome $2.7 billion, she said.
Ketchel said she wasn’t sure what the outcome of the required Lynn Canal ferry study would be.
“I hope they spend quality time doing a very thorough analysis of the ferry option and a no-road option,” she said.
That should take into consideration, she said, both the ongoing maintenance cost and the steep terrain along the road route.
“Quite frankly, that terrain is so intense I want to make sure they’re doing a thorough job there,” she said.
According to the existing EIS, the road project proposed by the state is already estimated to cost more to operate and maintain than the existing ferry service costs.
The goal, though, is to get the road Juneau and Southeast needs, Knapp said.
The arguments of cost and environmental impact that road opponents make are just being used to keep Juneau isolated, he said.
“All this hogwash about the environment and this and that about the cost are just that, hogwash,” he said. “And I’m being polite when I say ‘hogwash.’”
Kemp said he didn’t know what the cost of the additional delay would be, but the DOT Wednesday issued a request for proposals for a consulting firm to assist with the new studies. The RFP anticipates a cost at between $1 million and $2.5 million for the study.
• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or at patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.
Comments (29)
Add commentBUILD THE ROAD!
The cost of buying and maintaining five new ferries ($500 million) would equal the cost of building the road.
Building a road would create jobs. Lots of them.
Maintaining the road would create jobs. Lots of them.
The Governor wants to give away $2 billion/year to his oil company buds. If he were to sock that money away for two years instead, that money alone would build all three roads to Skagway, Umiat AND Nome!
BUILD THE ROAD!
“The fact that the governor took this action shows that he supports the road,” said Knapp, a former commissioner of the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, which has been a strong advocate for the road."
Um, this doesn't make sense. If our governor is abandoning the appeal, how does this translate into support for the road?
Spin.
build the road, The cost of
build the road,
The cost of the road is a one time expense, there after its upkeep only.
The ferry is system is just hemoraging the state.
So many employee's sitting around for hours on end, only working during docking procedures.
The ferries are dirty! Why don't the workers clean while at sea?
Its time for some one to do the math.
Workers X hourX wages.
Plus
Oil x per gallon x time per hour x distance.
10 times the amount of the road!!!!!!
But are held hostage because the enviromentalists and the AMHS want you to believe its the right thing for the enviroment.
Put the ferrries where they are needed most and build the road for those who want to drive!!!!!!
jo, I think the reasoning is that studying ferries would take
less time than the appeal. After the study is done and they have determined it will be the same cost or more the road will have more traction(pun intended). Just a guess.
$600 Million and Counting
When a new EIS is completed, the road cost will be over $600 million. As the previous EIS fabricated how much road traffic demand there would be, DOT must re-do those use projections to get true figures.
The proposed road route crosses many avalanche and landslide zones that are not worth the heavy expense to minimize the danger. One can clearly see these 80 slide areas as the ferry heads north to Haines.
Build the road !
Good call,Governor. Thank you. Do what you have to do and Build the road !
Build the road
Keep going Governor. If we have learned anything from the Valley Pool and the Second High School it is that you can persevere if youjust keep it moving forward.
Maybe Knapp has friends in
Maybe Knapp has friends in China to pay for this boondoggle. I don't think the feds or state will or will be able to pretty soon. Put a fork in it, it's done.
China Financing Is Best Hope
If China can dam the mighty Yangtze River, they must know how to build a cliff-hanger up Lynn Canal. A Chinese-financed toll road will be just the ticket to begin and end a weekend drive to Whitehorse.
Its still a dead end!
It just makes the dead end further away. Then you would need a dedicated ferry to do quick trips from the dead end to Skagway or Haines. And who wants to be stuck at the dead end for a day or two waiting for the crews to clear avalanche debris?
If the road went all the way through to Skagway, then I might be on board.
ROAD
I can just see the headlines in the Empire now " Several Cars Buried in Massive Avalanche on road "
seriously $ 600 to $ 800 million
For a road that only get you closer but not to Haines or Skagway. Then you'll still require an additional ferry to provide more than the once a day existing schedule.
The investment in the road of just $ 600,000,000 equates to some unbelievable amount per resident of Juneau. Using the population figure of 32,000 (more or less) the road alone would cost in excess of $ 18,000 per resident. Annual maintenance estimated to be far above and beyond a few thousand a year per resident. Now exactly where are all these funds suppose to come from? Sure looks like another boondoggle in the making for Alaska.
I know all too well what it is like to live in an isolated community. Along with the frustrations that come when you can not get away.
PEOPLE ARE CONFUSED
From the ADN this morning:
"While the project wouldn't connect Juneau directly to the North American road system,..."
Guess what people, even if this pipe dream of a road is built, you STILL have to take a ferry to get anywhere besides Katzehin flats. How is this better exactly?
And how much $ is being wasted on EIS performed every few years, court time, etc.
Aren't we in a recession? Aren't people losing jobs and isn't our federal gov't barely keeping it's head above water?
I am amazed at the audacity of those involved with this especially Parnell.
Anyone that looks at the east side of Lynn Canal when ferrying north knows that it is time for this far-fetched idea to die.
No Juneau road is better for Juneau than the proposed road
When I ran the number several years back , the Juneau road cost over a billion dollars. DOT Low Balled the cost. The road would be difficult to keep open in the winter and there would be a lot of down time in which the ferry would have to be used.
The road would be death trap for Juneau residents who had to travel it because the ferry was abandoned; Drunks, speeding to catch the ferry and ice , lots of ice. Are the ferries going to be abandon? If not, what is purpose of the road other than to spend money? If the ferries are abandon what will Juneau do when road is not usable for a week at a time?
There are two kinds of people who want that road, those who want blow money and the dumb, stupid and gullible.
For those that have questions about the death trap, look up statistics on a similar road, the road from Potter to Girdwood.
Even after we moved road out of the mountains on to the mud flats, it is still a death trap. There are no mud flats below the Juneau road.
Parnell is also for a gasline, Alcan Gasline, which also makes no sense. And Parnell is going to offer up a lot State oil & gas lease to justify Parnell’s $2 billion per year oil tax give away for nothing in return. What Parnell is not tell you is that almost all of those lands have been leased before and rejected, some explored, even drill & plug and given back to the State.
Why would Parnell make that phony offer like that ? Only because Parnell knows most of you are ignorant , stupid and gullible and Parnell knows he can get away with it because most of you are ignorant, stupid and gullible.
It would be great if the oily carpet baggers in Juneau would collect the oily carpet baggers in Anchorage and all go to their wondrous their North Dakota which is so much better than Alaska. North Dakota for all of the hoopla about North Dakota’s oil boon, ND only produces 100,000 barrels / day. Just enough to keep TAPS open contrary to what you have been peddled. One last thing, they are even flaring gas in North Dakota and Texas because the is no market for the gas where Parnell wants build the Parnell/ TransCanada Alcan Gasline.
The Governor Was Right
An appeal had very long odds. The fact of the matter here is that DOT violated the law. That's what a conservative federal judge appointed by a Republican President with the approval of the Republican delegation from Alaska determined. And then the federal circuit court upheld the judge's determination that DOT ignored the law.
Good for the Governor for not putting up with DOT's failures and wasting more money on a futile appeal. Time to go back do the analysis required by law.
Relax and Enjoy the Ferry
I should have added --- they have some of the world’s best scenery; for ‘blanks’ sake slow down, take the ferry, relax and enjoy it for few hours.
I personally would like to
I personally would like to see Governor Parnell re-think some of his other on going appeals. I have never seen such wasteful spending in our state.
Give up on the road
The East Lynn Canal is especially treacherous terrain. The enormous cost of building a road there would only be the beginning of the expenses. Maintaining the road would be extremely costly. There is increased reason to be skeptical about the road project at a time when there is so much hostility towards raising revenues (taxes) to pay for any such projects.
Though I think the ferries have been mismanaged, it seems to me that looking at improving them is time much better spent than appealing an adverse ruling on the road. Parnell made the right decision.
same old whiners, same old sky
is falling comments against the road and progress for SE Alaska.
The road all the way to Skagway will happen folks, the longer the SEACC gang and pals fight it, the more it will cost future generations and waste more money on ferries that just don't provide the service at an affordable cost to the residents of Alaska.
It is not a "Juneau" project, it is a much needed and overdue STATE project to move us ahead and redeploy ferries to the communities that will never have road access.
Even Barack says shovel ready projects are a priority, well here is one in our backyard...you can thank SEACC and the liberal judges for wasting time and money. Glad to see Governor Parnell has a long range vision for the state and is willing to pursue this much needed and necessary project.
Joe, Chip, and pals, take your own boats/kayaks, the majority of Alaskans want to drive rather than depend on the Tony Knowles/Jimmy Ayers/ boondoggled, fuel guzzling, fast ferries that only work some of the time....love the name Fairweather on one of them.
Cheechacko missed the mark
It's not SEACC that is your problem, it's common sense. Yup ferries burn more fuel than automobiles, but also transport about 100 times the people.
I agree ferry service is not as reliable as advertised or as it should be, but just think, for 60 seconds, how reliable a road would be that traverses something like 80+ avalanche chutes in the winter. The only reliable way to build that road is to blast into the mountain European-style and drive through tunnels. Unless we are just talking about a summer road which helps tourists more and residents less.
The Feds have no money, give me a break, we just had to raise the debt ceiling to not default on loans, and the US credit rating just went down. There is no money for something like this. Time for some common sense and fiscal responsibility.
Not A Chee
Stay calm. Breath in and out. The Governor did the right thing here. Try and stay civil. Stick to the facts and pay attention to financial details. Make your decision based on logic and reason.
The mark is not missed Bebo..
Are you going to build 4 new ferries for SE Alaska? At what cost and what are the operational costs/fuel, etc. going to be IF the legislature ever thinks of funding anything for our declining population?
I fully blame SEACC/Sierra Club etc. for their asinine, job stopping, anti human race positions they have had for the past 30 years. They have done more to kill our potential for jobs and opportunities for our youth than anything else in this region.
Thousands of us drive or ride by an avalanche chute daily every winter dude...it is called Mt. Juneau. Quit the hogwash as Mr. Knapp states in the article and just say you don't like the idea of progress and be honest, the feeble arguments about a dead end road to a ferry terminal, avalanches, a scar on the pristine shoreline, danger to sealions, eagles, etc. are just baloney.
Debate is healthy
I agree that organizations like SEACC, Sierra Club, etc. etc. are often way off the mark. In my opinion they are anti-everything and impede progress.
But now, more than perhaps any time, we have to make the soundest decisions possible, and I just don't think a road is the answer.
Talking about the Katzehin terminus now.
What transportation problems do the road address? Transportation time: questionable. It depends on how often the Katzehin ferry runs. It also depends on winter driving times.
Convenience: once again questionable. I get Mt. Jumbo and Thane Road but think about 50 of those. What kind of maintenance are we talking here?
I'm not sure that we need 4 new ferries. We need reliable service. One ferry dedicated to Lynn Canal, with daily service, should do the trick. The M/V Malaspina currently serves this role, and I'd like to see that continue during the winter.
Let's be reasonable
Nottacheechako, you sound so angry in your posts. I highly doubt that anyone is anti-human race and anti-progress.
If the disagreeing with building the road is so absolutely asinine as you say, then why does about half the community take that position? People just want to make a good decision and things like animal habitat, costs, and safety are important to some people (obviously not to you).
The fact that you don't concede that there is any merit to one side of a hotly debated issue is pretty indicative of your reasonableness.
Is there...
A completed design for the road yet? If not, what are the cost estimates based on?
Juneau isn't going to be a gated community forever so build it
"According to the existing EIS, the road project proposed by the state is already estimated to cost more to operate and maintain than the existing ferry service costs."
BUT, many more people will use the road and much more frequently because they will be able to AFFORD it. The cost per-person-and-car will drop to single digit percentages of what it is now.
And it's not just about getting to Haines or Skagway, many of us would just enjoy everything between Juneau and the new ferry terminal.
Anybody who has ever taken the ferry from the Ketchikan airport to town knows the difference between a ferry ride and shuttle.
It's about ACCESS.
TAKE THE FERRY!!!
Take the ferry! Embrace the ferry. It's a unique, chill, beautiful way to travel. If you want more roads move down south...there's lots of them down there, and not too many opportunities to ferry. The ferry system makes Juneau and southeast AK what it is. The semi-isolation has made our communities unique and different from the rest of the country. It's a good thing. Slow down, breathe, relax, float.
Show Me the Money
Where is the funding for the super expensive road construction part way up Lynn Canal going to come from and where is the political will in the Alaska Legislature to allocate this huge amount of funding?
I agree the current State
I agree the current State Ferry system leaves something to be desired, the basic problem is the State runs the ferry too hard try to gain few extra knots. They do not understand there is terminal velocity hull speed and to get beyond that point takes an enormous amount of wear and tear and energy, fuel, for very little additional speed.
Those big engines should run and run year after year without much besides routine maintenance instead of being breaking down all of the time. Not only do the break downs screw up the schedules but also the breakdowns cost the State an enormous amount of unnecessary money for employees, repairs and Fuel !
I’ll give an aviation example, an airplane example. Everybody loves a super cub right? Well, not me . I call them stupid cubs. The plane was designed to fly with a 1/3 of the horse power they now have put in Cubs. The wing, airfoil, was not design to fly much above 80 MPH and you reach that speed with 50 HP engine. If I had Stupid Cub I would take off the wings and sell them and have a new set wings made with a 23012 airfoil. With new wings the T Cub would go pound for pound with a Super cub and once off the water, run of and leave the Super Cub far behind and do on less hp and fuel.