Legislature(2003 - 2004)
01/20/2004 02:00 PM Senate TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
January 20, 2004
2:00 p.m.
TAPE(S) 04-1 [SENATE TAPE]
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator John Cowdery, Co-Chair
Senator Thomas Wagoner, Co-Chair
Senator Gene Therriault
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
Senator Donny Olson
Representative Jim Holm, Chair
Representative Vic Kohring
Representative Beverly Masek
Representative Dan Ogg
Representative Nick Stepovich
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Mary Kapsner
Representative Albert Kookesh
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Lyda Green
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW OF KNIK ARM BRIDGE AND TOLL AUTHORITY
CO-CHAIR JOHN COWDERY convened the Joint meeting of the Senate
and House Transportation Standing Committees at 2:00 p.m.
Present were Senators Wagoner, Therriault, Lincoln, Olson, and
Co-Chair Cowdery and Representatives Kohring, Masek, Ogg,
Stepovich, and Chair Holm. Also present was Senator Green.
[Senator Therriault and Representative Kohring arrived while the
meeting was in progress.]
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
GEORGE P. WUERCH, Chairman, Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority
(KABATA), gave a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "The New Knik
Arm Bridge Project." He told the committee that KABATA's seven-
member board is comprised of himself [George Wuerch] as
Chairman, Vice Chairman Darcie Salmon, Dave Haugen, Senator Lyda
Green, Representative Bill Stoltze, Commissioner Bill Corbus,
and Commissioner Mike Barton; the board has hired Henry Springer
as the Executive Director. Mr. Wuerch addressed the "who, what,
where, and when" of KABATA, and offered a historical perspective
- from 1955 to the present. He noted that although there are
many toll authorities in the Lower 48, this would be the first
one in Alaska. He explained that the project bridges the Knik
Arm by connecting the Port of Anchorage to the Matanuska-Susitna
Borough's Port MacKenzie; it uses existing roads and will be
railroad compatible.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY questioned whether railroad tolls would be
charged.
MR. WUERCH replied that this might be possible. In response to
a comment from Co-Chair Cowdery, he explained that because of
the [U.S.] Air Force's concern, and because of cost, the
bridge's elevation would be kept low. In response to a question
from Representative Stepovich, he said the length of the bridge
would be about 2.3 miles; however the section on supports would
be about 7,000 feet. He said the [U.S. Army] Corps of Engineers
(USACE) at the world-renown Waterways Experimental Station in
Vicksburg, Mississippi, has been consulted and has built
tabletop models for the project.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if other options for the location of the
bridge have been considered.
MR. WUERCH responded that alternatives were being considered and
that this location had not been finalized.
CO-CHAIR WAGONER asked if consideration had been given to
experimenting with tide-generated hydroelectric power.
MR. WUERCH responded that there were problems from the sediment
load from three glacial rivers, and that further exploration
would be taken up by the engineers.
MR. WUERCH summarized that construction would take about three
years, design would take about one year, "permitting - who
knows" and funding was from the TEA-21. He said there is about
$5 million dollars on the table in the Omnibus Appropriations
Bill, and also mentioned that as a public corporation, the
authority can sell revenue bonds. In response to a question
from Co-Chair Cowdery, he said KABATA would try to use the
existing [Draft] EIS and that the estimated cost ranged from
$400 million on the low end to a probable $800 million at the
high end. He said that a request will be submitted to Congress
for $100 million per year for six years and that KABATA will
probably have to come up with a match of $54 million - nine
percent - which is do-able because of the toll capability. He
noted that because building will be done on state land, the
state will get credit for donating the right-of-way.
MR. WUERCH mentioned design constraints such as river, tide, ice
flows and seismic. He also spoke to environmental
considerations involved with the project. He told the committee
that the goal was to build this project without asking for
general fund monies, and to have the toll pay for the operation
and maintenance (O&M) costs; the O&M cost is about $1.5 million
per year. He said that the military struggles for space in the
port of Anchorage and that the bridge's immediate benefit would
be to reduce the convoy's estimated two-hours of travel time to
get to the other side, by connecting two ports that are within
convenient driving distance from each other.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked about selling land for development, and
questioned future growth that is envisioned for the area.
DARCIE SALMON, Vice Chairman, KABATA, answered that this would
allow Anchorage to have two ways out and would allow the city to
grow and prosper.
MR. WUERCH responded to further questions from committee members
regarding engineering concerns, land development, and the use of
automatic scanners by toll authorities. In conclusion, he said
that the presentation would be available to any organization and
that additional information was available on the website,
www.knikarmbridge.com.
CO-CHAIR COWDERY stated that consideration was being given to
holding a hearing on this project in Anchorage.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the committee,
the Joint House and Senate Transportation Committees adjourned
at 2:52 p.m.
NOTE: The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes were
taken. A copy of the tape(s) and log notes may be obtained by
contacting the Senate Records Office at State Capitol, Room 3,
Juneau, Alaska 99801 (mailing address), (907) 465-2870, and
after adjournment of the second session of the 23rd Alaska State
Legislature, this information may be obtained by contacting the
Legislative Reference Library at (907) 465-3808.
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