37°

Sound off on the important issues at

The Senate Finance Committee's capital spending bill released Monday would reduce the state's spending on the Juneau road to $25 million in 2006.

If approved, the reduction for Juneau access spending at the state level would likely pose some setbacks for the project.

"It's the worst kind of compromise," said Joe Geldhof, a Juneau maritime attorney and Juneau road critic.

Other projects blessed with large federal allocations - such as the Gravina Island bridge in Ketchikan and the Knik Arm bridge in Anchorage - did not face reductions in the new committee version of the capital budget bill, Senate Bill 231.

Sen. Lyda Green, R-Wasilla, the Senate Finance co-chairwoman who crafted the committee version of the bill, could not be reached for comment Monday.

State transportation officials said Monday they were still analyzing the Senate Finance bill and didn't yet know how a 55 percent reduction this year would affect the project.

The state had hoped to pool its resources to spend $55 million in 2006, building the road out to a point north of Comet Beach on the east side of Lynn Canal, according to the project's final environmental impact statement.

To cover the project's future costs - which include new ferries and bridges - the state also plans to dip into other federal pots of money.

"Giving the department $25 million is not going to build (the) road. It ends up shorting other critical transportation priorities throughout the state," Geldhof said.

The department, however, intends to try to persuade legislators to accept the governor's budget proposal. "(We) expect to explain our case for why the $45 million is needed, recognizing that it is a lot to ask for in any given year," said Mike Chambers, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

By awarding the lump sum in a single year, the Legislature would allow the transportation department "greater economies of scale" in contracting the project. That saves the state money in the long run, Chambers said.

The Senate Finance has scheduled a public hearing about the bill's proposed spending in Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangell, and eight other cities at 5 p.m. Friday.

The state transportation department is still moving forward with its requests for proposals for components of the Juneau access project, Chambers added.

• Elizabeth Bluemink can be reached at elizabeth.bluemink@juneauempire.com.