“Up to $600 million in federal transportation funding could be at risk after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed $62 million in state match funding, Alaska House Transportation Committee members said during a hearing this week.”
That’s the start to an Anchorage Daily News article published on Friday.
A big piece of that vetoed $62 million is earmarked for extending Juneau’s road system to Cascade Point.
“The Cascade Point ferry terminal — which has been pursued by the Dunleavy administration for several years with the stated goal of shortening the ferry ride time between Juneau, Haines and Skagway — has been met with a mix of concern and skepticism from leaders of the affected communities,” wrote reporter Iris Samuels.
Concern and skepticism is right.
Representative Ashley Carrick was quoted calling out the Department of Transportation for having “not considered or conducted any feasibility studies or cost-benefit analysis.”
Senator Jesse Kiehl, a vocal supporter of the Alaska Marine Highway System, expressed doubt about the “financial and transportation sense” of the project.
Even before $600 million in federal funding was on the line, members of the Alaska Marine Highway System operations board questioned the project.
“The compelling reason for this is still escaping me,” Shirley Marquardt reportedly said. “And the operational sort of options that you’ve laid out are a step further than some of the things that we’ve seen in the past. But I’m still missing that piece about why does this make sense for customers?”
In the same Juneau Empire article from March of 2024, board member Wanetta Ayers said the project is “lacking market justification.”
So who is a fan of this project? And why?
If you’re wondering why Governor Dunleavy, who has notoriously cut ferry funding, is so interested in throwing money at the ferry system now, we get it! It’s a curious thing!
We’re sure it has nothing to do with an infamous quote in which Dunleavy refers to Alaska as “America’s natural resource warehouse,” continuing on to say “Our state’s vast reserves of energy and minerals can power the nation’s economy…”
And it can only be a coincidence that “the state’s planned investment was also celebrated by a Canadian mining company that hopes to use the site to transport ore from a new mining project” — yes, Grand Portage Resources, the company behind the New Amalga Mine project near Herbert Glacier, issued a gleeful press release when the Governor announced the request for proposals for contractors for the project.
What do you think? Is $677 million a good price for that? Asking for the Alaskan people.
