Juneau Empire Story Archive

Use money for safe, necessary roads

Letter to the editor

I think we're just fooling ourselves if we believe the proposed road from Juneau to Skagway will be a safe and reliable way to get in and out of Juneau. If you like snow, this has been a great winter so far. Driving, however, is a different story. The roads downtown and in the Valley have been treacherous, sometimes even after plowing. Plowing doesn't help with the icy conditions, and I've seen many cars in the ditch. If roads in town are that bad, how much worse would the Juneau road be? We're talking more than 60 miles of twisting, winding two-lane road that would hug the mountains on one side and skirt a cliff on the other.

I saw a letter the other day ("Build the freedom road," Empire, Feb. 10) that said the Juneau road would give people more freedom to leave Juneau. Freedom, which Mr. Hoffman neglects to mention, based entirely on unpredictable weather and often dangerous conditions. I wonder if he knows that the road to Whitehorse has been closed for about two weeks because of weather conditions?

I would much rather take a ferry during this time of year. The road is a waste of money. How about taking the $281 million for the road and using at least part of it to improve and expand ferry service? The leftovers can go to places in the rest of the state that have necessary roads.

Jai Crapella

Douglas