State appeals ruling that halted Juneau access project

Gov. Sarah Palin says the state is appealing a judge's ruling to stop all work on building a highway to Juneau.

Gov. Sarah Palin says the state is appealing a judge's ruling to stop all work on building a highway to Juneau.

The 51-mile highway would connect Alaska's capital city to the state road system. Work was put on hold in February when U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick ruled that the state had not considered alternatives, including expanding ferry service in Southeast.

"With all due respect, the court is simply wrong," said Deputy Attorney General Craig Tillery, in a Thursday press release.

Fifteen years of data show that the state ferry system cannot fulfill the transportation needs that a road would, said Leo von Scheben, commissioner of Transportation and Public Facilities.

"That's what they're paid to say," said Mark Gnadt, communications coordinator for the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, one of the five environmental groups that Judge Sedwick sided with in his February ruling.

"This appeal just shows the state is out of touch," Gnadt said. "The public has said for years that they want improved ferry service."

Gnadt cited a 2007 poll that showed about 80 percent of Alaskans thought that money for a road to Juneau would be better spent on other projects.

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