00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 28                                                                                      
01 Relating to extension of the James Dalton Highway to the Arctic Ocean.                                                  
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature reaffirms and declares that there is an                                           
04 immediate need for a public highway from the Yukon River Bridge to the Arctic Ocean; and                                
05  WHEREAS this highway will provide the first year-round, overland route to the Arctic                                   
06 Ocean and will result in the completion of a highway from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic                               
07 Ocean; and                                                                                                              
08  WHEREAS the highway between the Yukon River Bridge and the Arctic Ocean is                                             
09 named the James Dalton Highway, popularly known as the Dalton Highway; and                                              
10  WHEREAS the Dalton Highway provides North America's only highway link to the                                           
11 Arctic Ocean; and                                                                                                       
12  WHEREAS the Dalton Highway is the second northernmost highway in the world;                                            
13 and                                                                                                                     
14  WHEREAS the Dalton Highway was opened for public access to Deadhorse in 1994;                                          
01 and                                                                                                                     
02  WHEREAS the federal Department of Transportation added the Dalton Highway to                                           
03 the national highway system in 1995; and                                                                                
04  WHEREAS, during the last year, the average daily traffic at the Yukon River Bridge                                     
05 has increased 34.5 percent and at the Kuparuk River has increased 45 percent; and                                       
06  WHEREAS the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the Bureau of                                          
07 Land Management, and other agencies are providing waysides, campgrounds, and other                                      
08 facilities for the increasing number of travelers on the Dalton Highway; and                                            
09  WHEREAS there is a strong demand from these travelers for unrestricted private                                         
10 vehicle access to the Arctic Ocean; and                                                                                 
11  WHEREAS the Alaska division of tourism's official state map shows the Dalton                                           
12 Highway reaching the Arctic Ocean shores; and                                                                           
13  WHEREAS travelers wishing to take their vehicles or bicycles to the shore of the                                       
14 Arctic Ocean are prohibited access seven miles short of their goal by an oil company check                              
15 point; and                                                                                                              
16  WHEREAS the only existing access to the shore of the Arctic Ocean is through                                           
17 payment to an oil company authorized bus tour operator; and                                                             
18  WHEREAS a 1995 report by the University of Alaska stated "A large number of                                            
19 visitors expressed disappointment in not being allowed ocean access without payment, others                             
20 with large families could not afford the cost, and others were livid with the restriction"; and                         
21  WHEREAS the East Dock Road is built to federal highway secondary standards,                                            
22 provides a safe and short route to the ocean from Deadhorse, and bypasses major industrial                              
23 areas; and                                                                                                              
24  WHEREAS the East Dock Road is used very infrequently and only for oil spill                                            
25 training; and                                                                                                           
26  WHEREAS the East Dock Road gravel pad is ideal for establishment of a visitor                                          
27 wayside, complete with travelers' facilities; and                                                                       
28  WHEREAS, in an era of declining oil revenues, Alaska's tourism industry will benefit                                   
29 from travelers' desire for unrestricted access to the Arctic Ocean; and                                                 
30  WHEREAS tourism is the second largest employer in the state; and                                                       
31  WHEREAS the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the oil industry                                    
01 can resolve concerns that presently restrict access to the ocean;                                                       
02  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports opening the last few                                         
03 miles of the Dalton Highway to provide unrestricted public access to the Arctic Ocean; and                              
04 be it                                                                                                                   
05  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                           
06 Governor to direct the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to move                                       
07 expeditiously in providing visitor access and facilities at one of Alaska's incomparable                                
08 destinations, the shores of the Arctic Ocean.