A new look at a railroad from Alaska to the Lower 48

Combining an Alaska Railroad extension with energy and communication projects could make construction more feasible, supporters say.

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Rep. Jeanette James, a North Pole Republican, touted extending the Alaska Railroad 270 miles from outside of Fairbanks to the Yukon Territory at the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce convention last week in Juneau. From the Yukon, additional tracks could connect Alaska's Seward-to-Fairbanks rail system to British Columbia, the rest of Canada and the Lower 48 states, James said.

Though she has been a proponent of the idea since 1993, she said it may be close to fruition. If it were coupled with other projects such as building a natural gas pipeline and expanding telecommunication and utilities systems, it would be more cost effective and palatable to critics, James said.

State Chamber of Commerce Director Pam LaBolle echoed the positive feedback James received regarding the marriage of projects.

"Coupling it with utilities and telecommunications makes a lot of sense," LaBolle said. "There are resources and possibilities there we haven't even tapped yet because they wouldn't be economical. But if we had an easy way to get things in and out of there it would."

James said she is proposing combining the transportation project with a utility corridor. This would allow efficient construction of a gas line, railroad, fiber optic cable and power transmission lines, she said.

Tom Jensen of Alaska Communications Systems said it is important the added amenities be a part of the railroad project.

"Extending the railroad alone can be a tough sell," he said. "But by adding fiber optics and energy transmission now you are affecting several industries who will ultimately benefit from the railroad being there."

Some, however, worried about the cost of such a project. Bill McMahon of Alaska Gas Producers Pipeline group in Anchorage said the idea is interesting but wondered who would be asked to pay for it.

"The proposal is visionary but infrastructure projects rarely have immediate dollars-and-cents value," he said. "Also, it sounds like industry is going to be asked to cover much of the cost."

James said the cost will be in the billions of dollars, but compared to other forms of transportation infrastructure, railroads are "inexpensive durable, effective and easy to build."

"In talking with folks involved in the business of building a gas line, I am convinced there is an opportunity to see economy of scales building both along a shared corridor," she said.

The railroad would also create staying power for Alaska's economy, James said, by connecting people and goods with the rest of North America. She said it would encourage Alaskans to develop and manufacture products to sell to the Lower 48 because it would be easier and cheaper to transport large amounts of merchandise or natural resources south.

La Bolle said the state chamber agreed such a project would attract more business to Alaska because of the increased infrastructure.

"People in the Lower 48 have this false impression that we in Alaska are so inaccessible. They have the false impression that we are frozen and uninhabitable," LaBolle said. "So anytime you can get good access and inexpensive access the better we are going to look to people in the south who may want to relocate here."

Further, LaBolle said the railroad could also make Alaska a hub for trade for goods such as seafood and natural resources bound to and from Asia and Russia.

"Railroads were cutting edge in the 1850s and they are cutting edge in 2001," James said.

"When the White Pass and Yukon Route was built in 1899, it was considered truly visionary," she said, referring to the Skagway-to-Whitehorse rail line built during the Klondike gold rush. "And it will be visionary when Alaska is finally connected to North America a century or so later."

Melanie Plenda can be reached at mplenda@juneauempire.com.