Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 106
01/10/2006 01:30 PM House TRANSPORTATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Federal Funds Previously Earmarked for the Bridges and the Stip | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
January 10, 2006
1:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jim Elkins, Co-Chair
Representative Carl Gatto, Co-Chair
Representative Mark Neuman
Representative Bill Thomas
Representative Mary Kapsner
Representative Woodie Salmon
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Vic Kohring
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: FEDERAL FUNDS PREVIOUSLY EARMARKED FOR THE BRIDGES AND
THE STIP [STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM].
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JEFF OTTESEN, DIRECTOR
Division of Program Development
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the Governor's transportation
spending proposal.
GEORGE WUERCH, CHAIR
Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of funding a bridge
across the Knik Arm in Anchorage.
BOB FRENCH, Co-Vice President
Government Hill Community Council
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
BERNARDO HERNANDEZ, Director
Community Planning
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
JIM COLVER, Deputy Mayor and Assembly Member
Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
GARRET VAN ABBOTT
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
KEVIN HOOD
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
EMILY FERRY, Director
Alaska Transportation Priorities Project
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
CLIFF LOBAUGH
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
BOB DOLL, Executive Director
Better Ferries For Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
JANET KUSSART
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
JAN WRENTMORE, Business Owner
Skagway, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
MIKE BARTON, Commissioner
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of Alaska congressional
delegation ability to bring more money to Alaska transportation
projects.
EDWARD THOMAS
Craig Community Association
Craig, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
funding priorities.
JANELLE WALTON
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
FRED ATTHORP
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
GLENN MILLER, Director
Department of Transportation
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
JOHN COMBS, Mayor
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to governor's
proposed funding priorities.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CO-CHAIR GATTO called the House Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:30:17 PM. Representatives
Neuman, Salmon, Gatto and Elkins were present at the call to
order. Representatives Kapsner and Thomas arrived as the meeting
was in progress. Representatives Gara and Stoltze and Senator
Huggins were also present.
^OVERVIEW: FEDERAL FUNDS PREVIOUSLY EARMARKED FOR THE BRIDGES
AND THE STIP
CO-CHAIR GATTO announced that the only order of business would
be a discussion of federal funds previously earmarked for the
[Knik Arm and Gravina Island] bridges and the STIP [Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program].
1:32:53 PM
JEFF OTTESEN, Director, Division of Program Development,
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF),
said his division works with federal funds. He noted that he
will discuss three things: the Knik Arm and Gravina Island
bridge funding that is in the governor's capital budget, the
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) as a whole,
and the "forces bearing down on the STIP." Mr. Ottesen said
there are $91 million for the Gravina Bridge and $92.6 million
for the Knik Arm Bridge in the capital budget. He stated that
the earmarks were renamed by Congress; they weren't taken away
as earmarks, but renamed to DOT&PF without specific projects.
Congress said that the eligibility for spending the funds is
like the STIP category, which is a federal category that is the
most flexible, he added. He said it could be spent on trails,
roads, busses, ferries, and "just about anything you could name
under the transportation umbrella." He said DOT&PF looked at
this new classification of funds and considered what to do with
it since it has no project earmark. He noted that state
regulations require all unrestricted funds to go to a formula
which he showed to the committee as a pie chart.
1:36:55 PM
MR. OTTESEN said that under the distribution formula, 48% of
unrestricted funds go to the National Highway System, 8% go to
other highways in the state--called the Alaska Highway System,
and about 41% goes to trails, recreational access and community
transportation programs. "The slice in orange, the two sub-
categories, then gets further sub-allocated to Alaska's MPOs, or
Metropolitan Planning Organizations," he explained. He said
there are two MPOs in Alaska: Fairbanks and Anchorage. The rest
of the pie is shared with all other communities for community-
class roads, he added, and the governor wants to take the bridge
money out of the National Highway System's 48%. He said there is
absolutely no impact to community projects due to the two
bridges. "The bridges at this point are not impacting projects
that communities nominate and ask for. It's not impacting money
that goes to the MPOs of Anchorage or Fairbanks," he stated.
MR. OTTESEN said funding in the STIP is not the same as the
first "number" that comes out of Congress, because Congress
tends to reduce the original appropriation level. Last year it
appropriated at only 80-85%, so DOT&PF is assuming an
appropriation of 85% into the future, he said.
MR. OTTESEN said the heart of the issue is how DOT&PF's mission
and the STIP intertwine. DOT&PF's mission is to move people and
goods, he said, but not all roads are created equal. He showed a
chart of Alaska roads and their ownership and importance.
1:40:41 PM
MR. OTTESEN said that prior to 1991, only the top two tiers of
roads were eligible for STIP money, but in Alaska all roads are
now eligible. "Our road mileage competing for these dollars
tripled in one fell act of Congress," he noted. DOT&PF is trying
to spend more of the money at the bottom of the pyramid, which
means less money for the top, he stated.
1:41:49 PM
MR. OTTESEN showed graphs of vehicle-use across the state and
the number of accidents. Arteries of commerce are the most
important, he stated. The state is sending about 40% of STIP
funding to local-class, community-class roads, and other states
send only 20% of their STIP dollars to local-class roads.
"We're already sending more money down to those lower-class
roads than any other state at the expense of the big roads.
That's another example of the problem."
MR. OTTESEN said a third issue is that the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA-LU) bill passed by Congress is full of earmarks,
many of which are not fully funded. He questioned whether the
STIP would be used to fund those projects, diffusing the money
needed for DOT&PF's main job of keeping highways intact.
MR. OTTESEN said a fourth eligibility issue is that operations
and maintenance have been shifted to STIP dollars, taking away
from new projects. The money goes to worthy needs like
guardrails and line painting, he stated. DOT&PF's operating
budget has been essentially flat over the past 25 years in
actual dollars but not considering the increase in the cost of
living. These are necessary, he said, but the state can't expect
the STIP to support as many projects because of it.
1:47:03 PM
MR. OTTESEN said dollars are more limited now than in the recent
past. The SAFETEA-LU earmarks to the two bridges were "just the
drop in the bucket," he stated, and were not the only earmarks
for projects in the state to subtract from DOT&PF's normal
spending money. There were $440 million for earmarks in Alaska
and only $125 million went to bridges. Focusing on the bridges
as a source of a problem is missing the point, he stated. Mr.
Ottesen showed a chart of the money the state would have
received if there had been no earmarks, and said:
If you look at this pie chart...the large circle on
the right was formula dollars the state would have
received if there had been no earmarks. That formula
is $2,100 million in size, or $2.1 billion. If you
look at the orangey circle on the left, it's about a
billion dollars in earmarks the state received. Where
they overlap, the earmarks drew their money from the
formula funds at the rate of $597 million for about
$119 million each year of the five-year STIP.
1:49:08 PM
MR. OTTESEN said authorized money is not necessarily the amount
Alaska will receive from the federal treasury. He said the total
funds the state received under SAFETEA-LU was just over $2.5
billion, including all the earmarks and all the formula money.
He added that the money for the two bridges ($148 million for
Gravina and $179 million for Knik) will be received on the five-
year life of the bill in installments and will be fully
available in 2009. He said Congress allocates money by formula
in several different categories, and normally the state can
select the projects for the money, but in this bill the pressure
was on Congress to earmark. He continued:
There was a clamor for earmarks. There was a clamor
for a very large program, and there were budget
pressures at the same time. Those pressures
essentially collided as the bill came to the end, and
they capped the bill down at a growth rate that was
relatively modest, at the same time they needed to
deliver earmarks. And the only way they could get out
of the conundrum was to take earmarks out of money
that states would have received as formula. That was
money we would have expected to see in our regular
program and would have gone to the [National Highway
System] and the [Community Transportation Program] had
it not been earmarked...Gravina was subtractive. It
came out of the overlap of the two circles at $148
million, and Knik came out of the overlap at $179
million. The additional money to make up the full
amount of earmark was additive.
1:52:01 PM
MR. OTTESEN added that in addition to earmarks "reducing our
funds," there were other changes in SAFETEA-LU. The state also
receives money for set-aside programs with narrow constraints,
he said. The money for these restrictive programs grew by $25
million per year for the past five years, and he said the state
will "build projects with those dollars, but it tends to go to
projects that are no where near as important to people who ask
us for run-of-the-mill projects." The money tends to go to
important safety improvements, bridge replacements, trails, and
air quality issues. A third problem, he said, is the Highway
Trust Fund is "not delivering cash at the level that we would
like." He noted that the trust is built on gas taxes, and as the
price of fuel goes up, less gas is purchased, and less money
goes into the trust fund. He noted two national reports that
suggest the trust fund has flaws and needs to be fixed. He added
that Alaska relies on the trust fund almost exclusively for its
highway program.
1:54:26 PM
MR. OTTESEN said construction costs have jumped almost 30% in
the past year, and there have been increases in the price of
cement, energy, steel, labor and asphalt. "If our projects cost
30% more, right there we've lost the ability to build 3 out of
10 projects that were previously on a STIP," he noted. He stated
that legal requirements create "lots of strings," and he
mentioned the National Environmental Protection Act and others
that can add to the cost of a project.
1:56:17 PM
MR. OTTESEN said Alaska STIP funds are reduced by the state's
chosen safety laws that don't meet federal standards. He noted
that Alaska's repeat offender law and open container law cost
the state $12 million to its road-building program.
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked if Alaska's pending seat belt law would
reduce this loss.
MR. OTTESEN said the state will receive a financial reward when
that law is enacted.
1:58:09 PM
MR. OTTESEN said SAFETEA-LU money is down this year, and "I'm
here to tell you it's not all about the bridges. There's a lot
of other factors in play besides the bridges." He noted that
DOT&PF publishes a needs list built upon requests from
communities which would cost over $10 billion, and current
funding can only address 2% of the list. He said there is a
"disconnect between what people want for transportation and what
we can deliver out of the STIP." He said there are three main
systems of roads funded out of the STIP: the National Highway
System, the Community Transportation Program, and the Alaska
Highway System. He noted that to repave every mile would take
66-132 years for each system. He said, "We simply have a
disconnect between the current miles on the state system and the
dollars we're receiving in the STIP today."
2:01:01 PM
MR. OTTESEN said Alaskans expect the STIP to fund all roads with
a few exceptions because there is no other source of dedicated
funds. Other states provide additional funds, which are often
larger than the STIP money they receive. He noted that Alaska
has only begun to use tolls, which tend to be common in the rest
of the country. He said that Texas will toll its entire freeway
system to fund its roads, and Oregon is considering a mileage
tax.
2:02:36 PM
MR. OTTESEN said the two bridges will cost about $184 million,
but other projects add up to more lost funding to the state for
the five-year period. Building the state's earmarked projects
will use $269 million; the projects built with restricted funds
will use $125 million; the shortfall from the Highway Trust Fund
will be $300 million; preventative maintenance will cost $260
million; the money lost from Alaska not complying with safety
laws will cost $60 million; and construction cost escalation
will cost $300 million. "In five years we have lost the ability
to build over a billion dollars worth of projects, so it is
simply not fair to blame it all on the bridges," he said. He
added that the bridges will cost the state three $12-million
projects every year, and because of the other factors he just
listed, the state will lose the ability to build twenty-two $12-
million projects. Alaska shares more STIP dollars to communities
than any other state to the detriment of the higher-level roads,
he stated, and the state has no supplemental funding source.
2:05:02 PM
MR. OTTESEN said that 100 years ago Alaska had a tax on every
able-bodied man to build roads for two days, and 50 years ago
Alaska passed the highest gas tax in the country. The state now
has the lowest at $.08 a gallon.
2:05:47 PM
CO-CHAIR GATTO said Alaska is different because the federal
government funds all its transportation needs. The state gets
back $5.50 for every dollar it sends, he said, and he asked if
that ratio varies.
MR. OTTESEN said it has varied, but it is a "bone of
contention." There are many states that get less money back than
they contribute, he said, and Alaska will be negatively impacted
if that changes. "We were lucky to sustain the ratio we got, and
I don't know that we could ever make it grow," he opined.
2:07:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked if the money for the bridges will
take away from local road projects.
MR. OTTESEN said it will not. Showing a pie chart, he said the
money originally earmarked for the bridges "has been poured into
that pie, and the slice that goes to the bridges is coming out
of the slice on the left: the National Highway System slice. And
the rest of the money is either going to the Alaska Highway
System or it's gone down to the [Trails and Recreation Access
for Alaska program] and the [Community Transportation] Program."
The communities are getting more money because of the bridge
earmarks, he stated.
CO-CHAIR GATTO noted that federal money is discounted by 15%.
2:10:08 PM
MR. OTTESEN said that is just a predication from past years, and
writing the new STIP at 85% shows a little optimism.
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER asked what the money would be eligible
for if the legislature decided not to build the two bridges.
2:11:02 PM
MR. OTTESEN said the bridge money would flow to the National
Highway System.
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER asked for examples.
MR. OTTESEN listed national highways in Alaska, including the
Parks, Seward, Glenn, Egan, Sterling, Steese, Dalton and the
Alaska Marine Ferries and terminals.
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER asked if Lake Otis [Parkway] or a highway
in Bethel would be eligible.
MR. OTTESEN said they would not but that community projects will
receive more money. "You will see projects accelerate in the new
STIP because of the decision that was made in money going to
community programs," he added.
REPRESENTATIVE SALMON asked if bridge money could be used for
the road from Haines to Juneau.
MR. OTTESEN answered, "In theory, yes."
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked if a road from Haines to Juneau would be
considered part of the National Highway System.
MR. OTTESEN said that is likely because the ferry route is
considered a national highway. The state would have to petition
the federal Department of Transportation to add it, and the
process takes about three years.
2:12:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked if other states could use the funds
if the bridges aren't built.
MR. OTTESEN said the money is for the Alaska DOT&PF.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS asked if the bridge funding will require a
state match.
2:13:43 PM
MR. OTTESEN said there would be a state match at a 91:9 ratio,
or about $22 million of state money, "and likewise it would be a
little over $23 million for Knik Arm, and then of course the
projects have cost estimates that may be different than these
earmark amounts." Also, the bridge projects would need money in
addition to match money in order to be completed on current
schedules, he added.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS asked if it matters what the legislature
does, because none of the projects that the legislature voted
for last year were built. He said that DOT&PF has power over the
legislature, and it seems that the body can only vote to not
build.
2:14:48 PM
MR. OTTESEN explained that last year DOT&PF was building a STIP
based on an estimate of future funds. He said the state was
getting money on a monthly installment plan, and at the tenth
installment out of twelve, the federal government said Alaska
actually owed money and wanted some back. Mr. Ottesen said
DOT&PF had only nine months worth of money, so 2005 projects
will move into 2006. He apologized for the over-estimate which
was caused by inflation, restricted funds, and deductive
earmarks, which could not have been reasonably anticipated, he
said.
2:16:45 PM
CO-CHAIR ELKINS asked if the $11 million already spent for the
Gravina Bridge is included.
MR. OTTESEN said the $11 million is in addition to the funds
proposed for the project.
2:17:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GARA expressed that good government would require
an estimate of costs before allocating funds, and the plan for
the Knik Arm Bridge does not include four miles of road from
downtown Anchorage and the costs for the road on the other side
of the bridge. He said the bridge design, the access route and
number of road miles is not final.
CO-CHAIR GATTO interjected to say, "Mayor [George] Wuerch is, in
my opinion the most knowledgeable person about all of these
questions." He asked that the committee let Mr. Wuerch testify.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA continued to ask if it was unique that
DOT&PF is asking to put $90 million into a project before anyone
knows the costs.
MR. OTTESEN said he thinks there have been times when the state
has done it before. He said he thought there was a decision to
go ahead with the Parks Highway which took several years. He
also said the Whittier Tunnel had cost estimates that were
wrong. He noted that there have been other mega projects that
add to the state's infrastructure. He said the road to the north
of the Knik Bridge will be built anyway.
2:19:49 PM
GEORGE WUERCH, Chair, Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority
(KABATA), Anchorage, said that the 2003 legislature created the
authority. He said forecasts show that the area's population
increase will be the same whether the Knik bridge is built or
not, except after 2010 when forecasts show an increase in
population in the Matanuska-Susitna area due to the bridge. Two
public opinion polls show that the bridge project addresses a
legitimate need and has good, strong support, he stated. He said
a Florida designer drew up a design of the bridge and made a
cost estimate. He pointed to results of a Federal Highway
Administration scoping process that included access roads and a
bridge of 8,200 feet. He said the scoping also looked at access
to the bridge through tunnels under Government Hill, and
"there's any number of solutions there that are yet to be
resolved in the final [Environmental Impact Statement].
2:23:28 PM
MR. WUERCH said there are three proposals from different "world-
class" engineering design firms resulting in a project cost
estimate of $600 million for a 8,200-foot bridge "with gravel
causeways and roads and tunnels, as the case may be, on each
end, total project connectivity to existing roads..." He showed
the committee a funding chart which included the $94 million
federal funding, a special grant to the Matanuska-Susitna
[Borough] to build and pave the road to the port, and the
possibility of state appropriations and private sector
investments. He said he assumed a 1:1:1 ratio of federal, state,
and debt, and he then hired a firm to test the commercial market
for debt. He said the firm said that "we're credit worthy for
$200 million, assuming a toll of three to five dollars per
crossing--that's on a private vehicle; trucks, of course, and
heavy haulers would cost more." He added that if federal or
state money can't pay for it, he would look at restructuring the
debt environment. The cost in time and money of bypassing the
bridge, he said, is $15 for a person who lives in Pt. McKenzie
and wants to drive to Anchorage. He said tolls are a great way
to leverage state and federal money.
2:27:23 PM
MR. WUERCH continued:
The $94 million from the federal pool is only 4% of
the total money in TEA-LU. So Alaska's $2.1 billion,
you saw on the slides a minute ago, the $94 million is
about 4% of that total. In addition, what you see with
a toll bridge is the opportunity to leverage your
contribution, the state and federal equity, by a
substantial number. And on that closing, I will just
say a rate of return in the neighborhood of 35% isn't
all bad if you're making investments, and when you pay
one third of the cost with debt and let others pay it,
that's a good advantage.
2:28:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER asked where the $50 million road grant to
the Matanuska-Susitna [Borough] would come from.
MR. WUERCH said that would be state money, "because if it's
state money, then it becomes a maintenance project--that road
exists, it's gravel today, it should be asphalt, and they can
move that project forward this season, and they can pave that
road, and move it ahead, and that's $50 million dollars worth of
work that the toll bridge doesn't have to do."
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER asked if the money would be from the
[general fund].
MR. WUERCH said, "We want to take advantage of the scheduling
and the efficiency of doing it with state money that the
[general fund] would be the proper way to go about that."
2:29:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked why Alaskans outside of Anchorage
would want to fund the bridge.
2:30:03 PM
MR. WUERCH answered that people north of the Matanuska-Susitna
[Borough] will see increased efficiency of freight transfer and
"the potential to see the railroad laid right alongside this
highway bridge in future years." He noted that for Southeast
Alaska residents "struggling for ferry funds or new roads and
bridge funds, it's probably a toss up."
CO-CHAIR GATTO said the House Transportation Standing Committee
addresses airports, the marine highway, roads and railroads for
the entire state.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked about the $600 million in total costs
for the bridge. He said there is no mention of the cost of roads
to connect downtown Anchorage to the bridge.
MR. WUERCH said that is actually phase two because the Anchorage
transportation plan "says that that connection cannot be made
until the highway to highway connection is complete." He said in
2021 or 2023 there would be enough traffic for a second viaduct
across Ship Creek. The first connection would be from "A" Street
and "C" Street and the existing viaduct.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked if the cost of upgrading the four-mile
connections from "A" and "C" Streets is in the estimate.
MR. WUERCH said those costs are included, and it is "$62 million
for a bottom of the bluff connection and $63 million for a
tunnel."
2:32:43 PM
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked when the bridge would be open.
MR. WUERCH said December 2009 is an optimistic but attainable
date.
2:33:08 PM
BOB FRENCH, Co-Vice President, Government Hill Community
Council, Engineering Consultant, Anchorage, said he commutes
along the Glenn Highway between Eagle River and Anchorage every
day. He noted a letter from the mayors of the Matanuska-Susitna
Borough, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, and the Municipality of
Anchorage proposing reduced funding for bridges in order to fix
existing road problems. He said the mayors note that the two
bridges and the Juneau access road will cause "unnecessary
increased fatalities, congestion and maintenance costs
throughout the state. Mr. French said Mr. Ottesen's
presentation showed that the overall STIP is underfunded, and
the state can't afford to fund new projects when it can't afford
to fix current problems. He stated that Governor Murkowski's
budget only has $94 million for the Knik Arm Bridge which will
only fund 3/20th of the total cost.
MR. FRENCH related that it is premature to fund something where
the draft environmental impact statement "is not even put
forward and we have no idea of either where the routes will go
or what those costs are going to be." He urged the committee to
look at the opportunities lost if the bridges are funded.
2:36:41 PM
BERNARDO HERNANDEZ, Director, Community Planning, Fairbanks
North Star Borough, said he is on the technical committee of the
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) of the Fairbanks
Metropolitan Area Transportation System (FMATS). The Fairbanks
MPO has historically received $10 million of federal funds
passed through Alaska's DOT&PF per year for road projects, and
DOT&PF Commissioner Mike Barton recently gave notice that it
would now be awarded half of that. "This reduction is especially
poignant when considering that in 2005 our budget was reduced by
$4.2 million due to deductive federal earmarks and a rushed
effort by DOT&PF to protectively obligate funding which in the
end was allocated to other state road projects," he stated.
MR. HERNANDEZ said that the Fairbanks Transportation Improvement
Program has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration
and has undergone an extensive public review process, which was
based on the historical $10 million annual funding level. He
said that the cuts have devastated the budget for several
critical road projects. These projects include major access
corridors that are substandard and over capacity, he added. The
road projects are also essential to the state's gasline project.
MR. HERNANDEZ said that Fairbanks is a regional hub of the
north, and it is a growing community. He noted that the SAFETEA-
LU bill is important because Alaska will receive 31% more
funding than the previous bill, but Fairbanks will receive 50%
less. At 65 degrees latitude, the FMAT area faces many road
construction challenges and expenses. He said that creating a
center left-turn lane on one road will "consume an entire year's
allocation to our MPO. We need to act now. Please restore our
funding to its historical levels."
2:40:18 PM
JIM COLVER, Deputy Mayor and Assembly Member, Matanuska-Susitna
Borough, Palmer, said transportation corridors are clogged and a
Knik Arm Bridge will not help with the immediate problems. He
said the borough was assured that the bridge would not derail
funding for essential transportation projects, and "we now know
that not to be the case." He said the borough does not believe
in the governor's proposed allocations, and is wondering what
happened to the remaining $140 million that was slated for the
bridge that has left Southcentral Alaska. He asked why that
money went to a $50 million study for a railroad to Canada. He
said the borough would support using the money for roads rather
than a study.
MR. COLVER stated that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough fares the
worst in the proposed STIP, losing $25 million for road projects
that had been scheduled for 2006. "We're not even funded at
status quo," he noted. He added that the borough's roads have
the highest fatality rates and the region is the fastest
growing. He said that by 2025, 20 roads in the area will be
beyond capacity. If critical improvements are not made, 20 more
roads will fail, he added. He said several important
improvements to the Parks and Glenn highways, initiated with the
2004 and 2006 STIP, have no funding in the new STIP. "History
shows that if we do not continue STIP projects, they will drop
off the list," he said. He noted that the sewer meridian
improvements have been pushed to 2009, and he gave other
examples of projects that are getting into "the never-
neverland."
2:43:45 PM
MR. COLVER added that air quality funds are completely deleted
from the borough, and such funds should be spread equally among
regions, giving extra consideration for communities that provide
matching funds. The proposed STIP allocates over $400 million in
advance construction dollars to large projects, which consume
most of the allocations previously promised to the Southcentral
region, he said. To improve roads and address critical safety
needs, the state should reduce allocations to the large-scale
projects to allow critical transportation infrastructure
projects to move forward. He asked the committee to restore
funding to programs previously in the STIP.
2:45:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN commented that Mr. Ottesen said that
bridge funding would not take away from community road programs.
He added that the Knik area is the largest growing part of the
region, and the bridge would help relieve congestion through the
Matanuska-Susitna corridor. He said, "The KABATA has testified
earlier that they are committed to putting funds towards the
projects in the Knik area, out to Big Lake, to help the road
improvements through that...that would help reduce the funds
that are needed from the state in that area, would be paid for
through a toll authority."
2:46:28 PM
GARRET VAN ABBOTT, Ketchikan, said he was born in Ketchikan and
enjoys living there and wants the community to prosper. He noted
that a bridge to Gravina will not help the majority of Ketchikan
residents and is a waste of money. It will benefit the few who
are invested in property. The proposed bridge will harm
Ketchikan and warp the economy, he said, and cause disruption in
the tourist economy. The ferry works perfectly and is quicker
than the bridge would be for many residents, he noted. He asked
the fate of the ferry if the bridge were built. The massive
project will cause a cancerous growth on Gravina Island, he
stated. He concluded that the bridge will not accomplish
anything substantial, and he urged the committee to spend the
money on something useful.
2:49:48 PM
KEVIN HOOD, Juneau, said the DOT&PF presentation made clear the
importance of prioritizing Alaska's transportation projects
because of under-funding of the large list of projects. He asked
the committee to remove the Juneau access road from the
proposal. He said many live in Juneau because of the wild
surroundings and lack of road access. He said he doesn't want to
see the region become like other states; he enjoys the Alaskan
character. He said the ferry system is a state treasure and
should be enhanced. It is not always affordable to riders, so he
encouraged the committee to allocate funding to the ferries. He
said the people who work on the ferries have many ideas to make
the system more efficient.
CO-CHAIR GATTO said he plans on having another hearing to
discuss the Marine Highway.
MR. HOOD said he was glad about that and stressed that the road
will not increase quality-of-life and is a waste of money. He
suggested it would increase congestion and allow for big box
stores which negatively impact locally owned businesses.
2:52:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS asked if Mr. Hood would support a ferry
terminal in Berners Bay.
MR. HOOD said that Berners Bay is special and would be a
national park if it were located anywhere else, but he would
like to have time to think about the question. He stated that
downtown is a preferable site for a ferry terminal.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS said the fast ferry uses 800 gallons per
hour, and a terminal in Berners Bay would save 3000 gallons of
fuel per day.
MR. HOOD said that is a good point, and noted that Washington
state ferries run on bio-diesel.
2:53:59 PM
EMILY FERRY, Director, Alaska Transportation Priorities Project,
Juneau, said she represents a Juneau-based ad hoc watchdog group
made up of volunteers, unions, community leaders and
conservation groups. She said the take-home message from the
hearing is that Alaska doesn't have infinite resources for
transportation funding. She noted that there are many forces
Alaska can't control, but it can control the projects the state
chooses to put its limited funding into. She said the $90
million dollars for each bridge and the $45 million for a Juneau
access road are just the tip of the iceberg. "We're talking
about billions of dollars of investments that we would be
committing here." She said the committee needs to be aware that
the projects are the number one thing that the state can control
at this point. There are many other priorities including safety,
congestion and efficiency needs. She added that the future gas
pipeline will need improvements to the National Highway System,
including the Dalton and Alaska Highways. She said that the
current STIP eliminated $256 million from the last STIP for
projects that would facilitate gas pipeline construction.
2:56:37 PM
CLIFF LOBAUGH, retired veterinarian, Juneau, said he was
initially opposed to the ferry system, but he has had to "eat my
words" because it brought the communities together. He noted
that people in outlying areas don't have the same access to the
ferries because it has not been kept up. He said he is opposed
to the road. He noted that Annette Island once had the best
airport in the country. He mentioned the proposed plywood mill
in Berners Bay that was successfully resisted. Juneau's ferry
terminal was moved far from the main visitors center, and he
said he is against most of the things proposed by Mr. Ottesen
and DOT&PF commissioner Mike Barton.
3:02:17 PM
BOB DOLL, Executive Director, Better Ferries For Alaska, Juneau,
said he represents a coalition of communities and groups
interested in expanding the marine highway system and other
ferries. He said that coastal Alaska is served by ferries, and
there is concern that it will be short-changed by other
projects. Ferry systems require capital investment and operating
dollars, and he suggested the committee focus on the DOT&PF
mission: the movement of people and goods.
3:04:20 PM
JANET KUSSART, Juneau, said she prefers to keep Berners Bay
pristine and maintain the ferry system without a Juneau access
road. She asked the committee to consider the many needs in the
state, and postulated that Anchorage and Fairbanks residents
would rather repair their roads than build a road out of Juneau.
The Juneau access road would not really go anywhere, she said,
except to a ferry terminal "somewhere north." Travelers would
still need to take a ferry to get to Haines or Skagway. She
urged the committee to keep the ferries running and dependable.
Ms. Kussart told a story of friends trying to get to Juneau to
visit the public market. They tried two roads to Haines and
Skagway, and the roads were both closed. They waited until one
road opened up and were lucky enough to catch the fast ferry in
order to make it to Juneau in time. She noted that if they had
had to take a road to Juneau, it would likely be closed and they
would never had made it, but the ferry got them to Juneau.
3:07:53 PM
JAN WRENTMORE, Saloon Owner, Skagway, said she is also
representing the Skagway Marine Access Committee (SMAC) which
supports marine access in Lynn Canal and opposes a Juneau access
road. She said that despite the testimony of Mr. Ottesen, the
current STIP is a failure of the transportation planning process
and demonstrates that transportation in Alaska has become a
political football. She noted that with little or no explanation
two thirds of Alaska's long-awaited improvements to the existing
transportation system have been stripped and replaced with mega
projects, such as the Juneau road, which receives only marginal
support and will drain the state's transportation coffers long
into the future. She said local officials across the state are
protesting the slashing of funds from much-needed repairs and
upgrades to local facilities and infrastructure, including the
Alaska Marine Highway. In Skagway alone, she noted, two projects
with extreme importance to public safety--the Dyee Road
improvements and the gateway pedestrian project--have
disappeared from the STIP.
MS. WRENTMORE asked what the rationale was for supplanting
priority projects for a little-supported road. She noted that
Haines, Skagway, and more than half of Juneau have voted against
the road. "When have the people in Lynn Canal had the
opportunity to comment on the Gravina Bridge and Knik Arm
crossing and the clear impacts they will have on the
availability of future funding for local projects?" she asked.
She requested that the funding that has been removed from the
STIP for ferries and local fix-it projects be re-instated and
that the Juneau road and other mega projects be removed until
the Alaskan public has had an opportunity for review and
comment.
3:11:03 PM
MIKE BARTON, Commissioner, Department of Transportation & Public
Facilities, Juneau, said DOT&PF supports good transportation. He
said DOT&PF has heard a variety of perspectives, but it is
important to know that the congressional delegation,
particularly Don Young, has worked hard to get this money. He
said the state is getting $2.5 billion for transportation in
Alaska over the next five years which is more than the state
ever has. He noted that he, like others, wished the money were
"in different pockets."
CO-CHAIR GATTO said there are 30 people on line that would like
to testify. He said he would stay around while most of the rest
of the committee could go to other appointments.
3:12:38 PM
EDWARD THOMAS, Craig Community Association, Craig, said the city
of Craig and the community association have identified the Port
St. Nicholas road project as important to the community. It has
been in the works since 1993, he said, and was identified in the
last two STIP processes as a joint DOT&PF and Bureau of Indian
Affairs project with each contributing $3 million. After
preliminary engineering, he said, it became apparent that more
funding was needed, and DOT&PF said it would absolutely not
provide more funding because it was trying to do away with
community-based transportation projects. He said the community
association requested funds through Alaska's congressional
delegation. Congressman Young had identified $3 million back to
the project; however, DOT&PF is proposing to offset those funds.
He noted that without the money, the road will end up too narrow
and unsafe.
3:16:46 PM
JANELLE WALTON, Anchorage, noted that KABATA said the Knik Arm
crossing is going to cost $600 million, but a DOT&PF study
estimates the cost at $1.5 billion. She said it was a huge
difference, and there needs to be serious research on the
estimate. She added that the toll estimate of $3.00 to $5.00
each way is a ridiculous amount to pay and would add up to $120
- $200 a month for the average commuter. It is especially
ridiculous, she pointed out, since KABATA's own study has said
there is no significant change in the time for the commute
between Wasilla and Anchorage. She asked why commuters would pay
so much to shave five minutes off of a commute, and why would
the state want to spend $1.5 billion to build something that
won't save anyone any time. She said the state needs to look at
the real cost of the bridge. She noted that avalanches stranded
drivers last year because DOT&PF has cut funding on snowplows.
She said very basic maintenance has been cut.
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked Mr. Wuerch about the $1.5 billion cost
estimate.
MR. WUERCH said that study was done in 2003 by the Alaska DOT&PF
who had hired a good firm to price out a project from a 1984
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), but there were many flaws
in the EIS. He said that study had bridge piers further apart.
The study also had "forty miles of new road to come in west of
Nancy Lake to the Parks Highway. To look at the $1.5 or whatever
number that was in there, compared to the proposal that's on the
table today and sponsored by the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll
Authority, they're like apples and oranges," he said.
MS. WALTON said that before the committee takes Mr. Wuerch's
word, the members need to take a look at these studies. She said
that Mr. Wuerch's proposal removes many of the roads to Point
McKenzie, which are gravel roads and four-wheeler roads and will
need to be upgraded. It will taka a huge amount of money to
upgrade the roads that lead to the bridge, she stated. If there
will be much commuter traffic there needs to be roads created
and upgraded substantially. "There's all of these road systems
that have been conveniently removed from the project to get this
$600 million mark," she said, because KABATA does not want the
bridge to be seen as a mega project. "There needs to be more
research before we just blindly sink money in there, and watch
it just turn into this hole where more and more money needs to
be put into it," she concluded.
3:23:28 PM
FRED ATTHORP, Ketchikan, said that the Gravina Island Bridge all
started with a Gravina Island federal land sale which offered a
preference for [military] veterans. So a group of investors
advertised in Seattle for veterans to buy the land and turn it
over to the investors. Enough veterans were found, he said, and
a plane was chartered to bring them up to make the land
purchase.
MR. ATTHORP noted that he received an email from Thailand asking
about "the bridge to nowhere." "The absurdity of this bridge
seems to be a national embarrassment and an international joke,"
he said, "and the money would serve the public interest far
better if were spent on highways or our ferry system rather than
to build a bridge so that a few politically-connected
speculators could make a profit on deviously acquired land."
3:25:49 PM
GLENN MILLER, Director, Department of Transportation, Air
Quality Division, Fairbanks North Star Borough, said it is
absolutely necessary to maintain the current STIP for a program
called Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ). He noted that
the Fairbanks area has gotten $2 million appropriations from
DOT&PF through STIP due to previous violations for carbon
monoxide levels. These funds are used to implement control
measures for air quality, he said, and now DOT&PF has proposed
to eliminate the funding in fiscal year 2007. The projects have
gone through an extensive approval process at federal, state,
and local levels involving FMATS, DOT&PF, the Federal Highways
Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The money
is used for control measures designed to keep Fairbanks within
attainment.
3:27:49 PM
MR. MILLER said EPA has recently proposed changes that will
affect the Fairbanks area with regard to particulates. "Even at
current EPA established particulate standards, Fairbanks is
barely within the threshold for particulates and [it] appears
that level is rising. In this month alone air quality advisories
have been issued seven times as our 24-hour readings measured
within the unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups range." Area families
want to rely more on wood heat as fuel prices increase, but air
quality problems require limited use of wood stoves. He noted
that Fairbanks has demonstrated five years of clean monitoring
data for carbon monoxide, shifting the emphasis from reaching
attainment to maintaining attainment. He urged historic
appropriations of funding through the STIP.
3:29:43 PM
JOHN COMBS, Mayor, Palmer, Alaska, said the STIP does not come
close to the transportation needs of the core area of the
Matanuska Valley. He said Representative Neuman is correct that
the Knik area is growing fast in terms of percentages, "but
we're talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-8000 people,
while in the core area we're talking 7% to 8% growth in 40-
45,000 people." In the past five years, 12,000 people have moved
into the area. Some roads were built in the 1950s, "and anyone
coming from Anchorage and has to go west onto Palmer-Wasilla has
to come all the way down to the Palmer intersection at the Glenn
and Evergreen, and take a left and go west in order to get to
Wasilla, to shopping areas and to the residential areas." He
said a right-of-way has been requested, as well as "a lot of
things. Some things just keep being pushed back on the STIP."
The roads are crowded and dangerous, so "we're moving people but
we're also killing people by moving them on these roads," he
stated. He added that reconstruction of a road between the Parks
Highway and a Palmer road to a four-lane road has been
repeatedly delayed. He spoke of other delayed STIP projects. The
Palmer-Wasilla highway was on the STIP and has disappeared, he
noted, and the Old Glenn Highway has been pushed back and then
disappeared. "If you take a look at what has occurred with the
preliminary proposal from the STIP, and you take a look at the
Matanuska-Susitna Valley, which is now the third largest
concentration of citizens in the State of Alaska, between West
Wasilla and East Palmer, it's almost like we're ignoring the
bear that is in the living room, here. There's a lot of people
moving in here; we're gaining 500 students in our school system
each and every year. And if you take a look at what's been
allocated in this proposal, it doesn't even begin to adequately
meet our needs," he concluded.
CO-CHAIR GATTO requested emails to the committee from interested
public regarding the proposal.
ADJOURNMENT
3:34:54 PM
There being no further business, the House Transportation
Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m.
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