Juneau Road
The proposed Juneau Road would add 50 miles of new road from Echo Cove (40 miles north of Juneau), dead-ending at a new ferry terminal on the Katzehin River. From there, drivers would have to catch a shuttle ferry to Haines or Skagway.This two-lane road would cross 36 avalanche chutes and miles of unstable, difficult terrain, creating an expensive to maintain and dangerous gauntlet for winter drivers and workers.
According to a report released in July 2009, the Federal Highway Administration estimates the total project cost at nearly 500 million taxpayer dollars! And that doesn't account for recent and projected inflation.
At a time when federal transportation funding is declining, this project is an expensive and unreasonable proposal that would pull resources from more pressing transportation needs.
Take Action
It's back. After the courts invalidated the state's environmental impact statement due to bias against ferries, the state has begun preparing a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the Juneau Road. There will be two opportunities for the public to comment.
Alaska DOT is currently soliciting public comments for its scoping phase of the SEIS process. This is your opportunity to voice concerns about the purpose and need of the project and what alternatives and issues should be studied during the EIS process. For more information, refer to SEACC's comments and our talking points.
Comments are due on Monday, Feburary 20, 2012. Consult the document posted below and the state's Juneau Road EIS page for more information. Use this comment form or send comments to
Background Resources
Videos
Steep Not Cheap video (YouTube)
"Blue Highway" - A Costa Del Mar Film from Costa Sunglasses on Vimeo.
