I have been following the fortunes and misfortunes of the Juneau Access Project since I moved to Juneau over 44 years ago. I have an observation and a suggestion.
The observation is that the decision made by the federal judge did not properly consider all benefits of the road link between Juneau and upper Lynn Canal. The case only looked at comparing access by road and ferries to Haines and Skagway. A road, unlike the ferries, gives access all along its route. The recreational benefits alone to the residents of all three communities and visitors are immense. Perfect examples of how recreational benefits accrue to a community can be seen in the 1960s-era extensions of the Juneau road system to Outer Point and Echo Cove. The comparison required by the decision should not have been limited to access to upper Lynn Canal alone. It should have compared the value of access to only the upper area by ferry to the value of access to the entire area which a road would provide. Imagine the recreational benefit to people of all ages and abilities of being able to have vehicle access to all of Berners Bay and the amazing Katzehin Delta.
The suggestion is directed toward highway maintenance costs. You cannot blame the people in Haines and Skagway for protecting what they already have. When they want to get to the northern part of Alaska or any other portion of the continent, they just get in their car and drive there. And when they wish to go to Juneau or other Southeast communities, they board a ferry, get a cup of brewed coffee, climb into a recliner and visit, sleep or read while the state picks up two-thirds of the cost of their ticket. This cannot and will not continue as Southeast continues its slide in population and influence in the Legislature. What is increasingly obvious to me and, hopefully, the governor and legislators is that Southeast needs a road running up Lynn Canal. What it does not need is two year-round roads running out of upper Lynn Canal to the interior. One road should be closed from mid-September through May and the funds for maintaining it diverted to maintenance of the Juneau link. Doing so would spread fairly the pain and pleasure of access among the three communities.
Jan Van Dort,
Juneau