05/07/2002 01:09 PM House TRA

SJR 41-ALASKA HIGHWAY RECONSTRUCTION                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KOHRING  announced  that   the  first  matter  before  the                                                               
committee  was  SENATE  JOINT  RESOLUTION  NO.  41,  Relating  to                                                               
reconstruction and paving of the Alaska Highway.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Number 0075                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
PHELAN  STRAUBE, Staff  to Senator  Randy Phillips,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature,   presented  SJR   41  on   behalf  of   the  Senate                                                               
Transportation Standing Committee, sponsor.   He told members the                                                               
resolution urges  Congress to appropriate  the final  $45 million                                                               
to finish  the so-called Shakwak  Project, which is  the repaving                                                               
of the Alaska Highway from the  Canadian border [near Tok] to the                                                               
Canadian border  near Haines.   The project has been  ongoing for                                                               
some time, and  the $45 million would go toward  paving the final                                                               
18 miles of road and fixing up four bridges.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Number 0152                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MASEK   asked  Mr.  Straube  when   [the  federal                                                               
government] was supposed to appropriate the money.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. STRAUBE  answered that it  was based on an  agreement between                                                               
the U.S. and Canadian governments made in 1973.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MASEK asked  if the  last appropriation  had been                                                               
make in the last two or three years.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. STRAUBE said he believed so, but would double-check.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Number 0248                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KOHRING  asked if  it  would  be Canadian  contractors  or                                                               
American contractors doing the roadwork if funds were secured.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Number 0287                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SCALZI  asked  if   [SJR  41]  was  addressing  a                                                               
separate   allocation   from   the  ISTEA   [Intermodal   Surface                                                               
Transportation Efficiency Act]  funds or was part  of the state's                                                               
annual package.   He asked  if the  request is for  an additional                                                               
appropriation.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. STRAUBE reiterated that [the  request] is based on a separate                                                               
agreement  made in  1973, and  [the $45  million] represents  the                                                               
funds to finish  the project.  He  said not all of  the money was                                                               
appropriated at once.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Number 0384                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SCOTT KENT,  Minister; Energy,  Mines, and  Resources; Government                                                               
of Yukon, testified via teleconference.   He gave some background                                                               
on the  history of the  Alaska Highway and  the Haines Road.   He                                                               
told the  committee the Shakwak  Project was  originally proposed                                                               
by the U.S. and Canadian  governments.  The U.S. government funds                                                               
the  construction  through  the  Federal  Highway  Administration                                                               
(FHA), and  the Canadian government is  responsible for providing                                                               
right-of-way access  to granular  materials for  construction and                                                               
maintaining the highway.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR.  KENT  said  in  1998 Congress  approved  an  additional  $94                                                               
million for  the project; next year's  construction would exhaust                                                               
that money.  He said the  $45 million [being requested in SJR 41]                                                               
would be  used to  extend the road  18 miles at  a cost  of $19.6                                                               
million, and  for four major bridge  projects at a cost  of $25.4                                                               
million.   If it  is funded, the  anticipated completion  date is                                                               
2006.  He  also expressed enthusiasm about an  Alaska natural gas                                                               
pipeline, saying that should such  a project require an expedited                                                               
timeframe for  reconstruction of  the Alaska Highway,  [the Yukon                                                               
government] would oblige.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Number 0718                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. KENT  explained that either Alaskan  or Canadian construction                                                               
firms could place  bids for the projects.  He  noted that for the                                                               
current year, for example, one project  had gone to a Yukon firm,                                                               
one  to a  British Columbia  firm, and  the third  was yet  to be                                                               
decided.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KOHRING asked  if  the  bidding process  was  open to  any                                                               
American firms.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. KENT  said that it was  open, and that the  remoteness of the                                                               
project  favors Alaskan  and Yukon  firms.   However, the  recent                                                               
highway funding cuts in British  Columbia and Alberta have forced                                                               
many of the firms from those  areas into the market for contracts                                                               
on the Shakwak Project.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KOHRING mentioned  how the Alaska Highway  is beneficial to                                                               
both Alaska and Canada.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. KENT  concluded by talking  about the status of  the proposed                                                               
natural gas pipeline and commenting  on the cooperative nature of                                                               
the Yukon and Alaska.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Number 1093                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE OGAN moved to report  SJR 41 out of committee with                                                               
individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  zero  fiscal                                                               
notes.   There being no  objection, SJR 41  was moved out  of the                                                               
House Transportation Standing Committee.