Enrolled SCR 1: Relating to economic development generated by new road construction and to the design and construction of the Hot Springs Loop Road to connect Chena Hot Springs and Circle Hot Springs, of a highway along the Bradfield/Iskut Rivers transportation corridor, of the Knik Arm Crossing, of a road from Iliamna Bay to Pile Bay, and of other roads and highways.
00Enrolled SCR 1 01 Relating to economic development generated by new road construction and to the design and 02 construction of the Hot Springs Loop Road to connect Chena Hot Springs and Circle Hot 03 Springs, of a highway along the Bradfield/Iskut Rivers transportation corridor, of the Knik 04 Arm Crossing, of a road from Iliamna Bay to Pile Bay, and of other roads and highways. 05 _______________ 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 WHEREAS new roads are needed to connect communities with the resources that 08 create the increased potential for commercial, industrial, recreational, and social activities for 09 residents and visitors; and 10 WHEREAS new local roads will allow Alaskans to get to local schools and health 11 facilities and to quickly respond to local emergency situations; and 12 WHEREAS improving the transportation infrastructure in Alaska is vital to the 13 economic growth and prosperity of the state; and 14 WHEREAS Alaska is the largest state in the Union, comprising one-fifth of the total 15 area of the continental United States, yet Alaska has barely 2,000 miles of roadways, less than 16 the state of Vermont; and 17 WHEREAS the proposed Hot Springs Loop Road from Chena Hot Springs to Circle
01 Hot Springs will complete a transportation loop connecting Fairbanks and the two resort areas 02 and will open areas of Interior Alaska for residents and visitors to explore, enjoy, and 03 develop; and 04 WHEREAS the Hot Springs Loop Road would connect the Steese Highway with the 05 Chena Hot Springs Road either through or around the Steese National Conservation Area; and 06 WHEREAS the Hot Springs Loop Road will allow residents and tourists an 07 opportunity to drive the scenic loop between Fairbanks and the resort areas at Chena Hot 08 Springs and Circle Hot Springs; and 09 WHEREAS the Hot Springs Loop Road will foster increased outdoor activities, new 10 tourism ventures, and economic growth in Interior Alaska; and 11 WHEREAS construction of a highway along the Bradfield/Iskut Rivers transportation 12 corridor would increase the traffic flow between Southeast Alaska and the Alaska marine 13 highway to British Columbia by permitting a more efficient flow of travelers into and out of 14 the region; and 15 WHEREAS a transportation corridor between Southeast Alaska and British Columbia 16 would generate recreational growth benefiting Alaskans and British Columbians; and 17 WHEREAS communities in southern Southeast Alaska have suffered immense and 18 catastrophic declines in their economic base due to removal of the timber industry as a key 19 component of their economies by the previous national administration; and 20 WHEREAS the Alaska marine highway system is placing severe constraints on the 21 shipment of fresh seafood to United States and Canadian markets because it has a policy to 22 maximize revenue in the summer period at the expense of reserved deck space for fresh 23 seafood containers, because the capacity to transport shipping vans has been severely 24 curtailed due to international SOLAS shipping standard requirements, and because the Prince 25 Rupert transfer bridge is not of sufficient weight carrying capacity; and 26 WHEREAS the shipment of fresh seafood, both caught and processed domestically, 27 by way of airlines is both capacity constrained and expensive, thus denying efficiencies and 28 potential markets for high margin fresh seafood products; and 29 WHEREAS a land transportation link to the North American highway system could 30 provide viable development of new vocations resulting from new economic growth; and 31 WHEREAS the southern region of Southeast Alaska has been negatively affected in
01 recent years with individual fishery quota (IFQ) landings moving to road-connected 02 communities such as Haines and Prince Rupert; and 03 WHEREAS the people of southern Southeast Alaska wish to increase trade with our 04 Canadian neighbors; and 05 WHEREAS the Knik Arm Crossing project has been identified as a project that 06 would have a profound effect on future development in Southcentral Alaska; and 07 WHEREAS construction of a road from Iliamna Bay to Pile Bay on Lake Iliamna will 08 provide a greatly enhanced transportation route to Lake Iliamna, Newhalen, Lake Clark, the 09 upper Bristol Bay area, several mineral deposits, and unparalleled recreational opportunities 10 and will provide for more economical transportation of food, fuel, and materials to the several 11 villages in the area; and 12 WHEREAS the Donlin Creek Road project has been identified as a project that will 13 greatly enhance economic development and establish a transportation corridor in the 14 Kuskokwim area, which will have a profound effect on future development in the region; and 15 WHEREAS the Ralph M. Bartholomew Veterans' Memorial Bridge connecting the 16 City of Ketchikan to Gravina Island has been identified as a project that will provide needed 17 access to the Ketchikan International Airport and foster future development of Gravina Island; 18 and 19 WHEREAS the East Lynn Canal Road connecting the City of Juneau with northern 20 Southeast Alaska communities would have a profound impact on the economy of Juneau and 21 enhance regional development and transportation infrastructure; 22 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes that the economic 23 development activity generated by the construction of new roads is important to the growth 24 and prosperity of the state; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the design and 26 construction of the Hot Springs Loop Road to provide a scenic loop route to connect 27 Fairbanks and the resort areas at Chena Hot Springs and Circle Hot Springs; and be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the efforts of 29 Governor Frank Murkowski and the City of Wrangell to continue their work with the 30 Province of British Columbia and Cassiar and Yellowhead Highways communities in their 31 efforts to reach an agreement to construct a highway along the Bradfield/Iskut Rivers
01 transportation corridor; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the pre-National 03 Environmental Policy Act scoping and environmental impact statement process and the 04 design and construction of a highway along the Bradfield/Iskut Rivers transportation corridor 05 to connect southern Southeast Alaska to British Columbia; and be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the design and 07 construction of the Knik Arm Crossing and a road from Iliamna Bay to Pile Bay; and be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the continued 09 effort for construction of the Donlin Creek Road; and be it 10 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the design and 11 construction of a road to Rock Creek, bypassing Moon Light Springs, for development of 12 mineral extraction operations on the Seward Peninsula; and be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the design and 14 construction of the Ralph M. Bartholomew Veterans' Memorial Bridge to connect the City of 15 Ketchikan and Gravina Island and the East Lynn Canal Road alignment connecting the City 16 of Juneau to northern Southeast Alaska. 17 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Frank Murkowski, Governor 18 of Alaska; the Honorable Mike Barton, Commissioner, Department of Transportation and 19 Public Facilities; Al Ewing, Chief of Staff, Denali Commission; Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, 20 President and Chief Executive Officer, NovaGold Resources Inc.; the mayors of the 21 Municipality of Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star Borough, City of Fairbanks, City and 22 Borough of Juneau, City of Wrangell, City of Petersburg, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, City 23 of Ketchikan, City of Klawock, City of Craig, Kenai Peninsula Borough, City of Homer, City 24 of Kenai, City of Soldotna, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, City of Wasilla, City of Palmer, 25 Lake and Peninsula Borough, and City of Nome; the Postmasters of Central, Circle, Pedro 26 Bay, Iliamna, Crooked Creek, and Red Devil; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the 27 Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 28 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.