The
Knik Arm Bridge is one name for a controversial proposed bridge to cross the Knik Arm portion of
Cook InletCook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
, north of
AnchorageAnchorage is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,243 municipal residents in 2008 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage...
,
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The project has also been referred to as "Don Young's Way," after Alaskan Congressman
Don YoungDonald Edwin "Don" Young has been the sole Representative from Alaska in the United States House of Representatives since 1973. He is a Republican. Currently Young is the 7th most senior U.S. Representative and the 2nd most senior Republican Representative, as well as the 2nd most senior...
"whose son-in-law has a small stake in property near the bridge's proposed western span" and strongly supported the project when he was Chair of the House Transportation Committee. Like the canceled
Gravina Island BridgeThe Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska with Gravina Island, an island which contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was...
to which its funding has been linked, it has also been referred to as another Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere".
The bridge would expand the commuter belt for Alaska's largest city by cutting an hour or more from journeys from the southern part of the Matanuska/Susitna Valley.
The
Knik Arm Bridge is one name for a controversial proposed bridge to cross the Knik Arm portion of
Cook InletCook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
, north of
AnchorageAnchorage is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,243 municipal residents in 2008 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage...
,
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The project has also been referred to as "Don Young's Way," after Alaskan Congressman
Don YoungDonald Edwin "Don" Young has been the sole Representative from Alaska in the United States House of Representatives since 1973. He is a Republican. Currently Young is the 7th most senior U.S. Representative and the 2nd most senior Republican Representative, as well as the 2nd most senior...
"whose son-in-law has a small stake in property near the bridge's proposed western span" and strongly supported the project when he was Chair of the House Transportation Committee. Like the canceled
Gravina Island BridgeThe Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska with Gravina Island, an island which contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was...
to which its funding has been linked, it has also been referred to as another Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere".
The bridge would expand the commuter belt for Alaska's largest city by cutting an hour or more from journeys from the southern part of the Matanuska/Susitna Valley. It would also provide an alternate route from Anchorage to Wasilla. House building and expansion in Anchorage are constrained by the Chugach mountains on one side and water on most of the other sides of the city. Cost estimates for the bridge vary wildly; more conservative estimates put the cost as high as $1.5 billion. Opponents suggest that a proposed
Knik Arm ferryThe proposed Knik Arm ferry or Cook Inlet ferry, to be christened the M/V Susitna would be a year-round passenger and auto ferry across Knik Arm between Anchorage and Point MacKenzie in Alaska. The project is expected to cost $44 million, a fraction of the cost of the more controversial proposed...
is a more cost-effective solution.
Idea
The idea of a bridge or causeway across Knik Arm was first envisioned sometime between 1955 and 1957 by a group of Anchorage businessmen. At that time, the cost estimate was $25 million ($194 million in 2008 dollars). Over the decades, the idea has been studied repeatedly, including the concept of a Turnagain Arm bridge on the opposite side of Anchorage. The current round of studies were conducted under the jurisdiction of the Knik Arm Bridge And Toll Authority, created by the
Alaska LegislatureThe Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution, consisting of the lower Alaska House of Representatives, with 40 members, and the upper house Alaska Senate, with 20 members...
in 2003 to develop a method of construction financing and of operation and maintenance of the bridge once constructed.
Criticism and controversy
Some opponents argue the bridge is a "pork-barrel project" because it was tied to the Gravina Island Bridge in its $450 million plus funding legislation . There is also concern it "could worsen some commuting and threaten a population of beluga whales." Military officials argue that several of the proposed routes encroach upon either
Elmendorf Air Force BaseElmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It was named in honor of test pilot Captain Hugh M. Elmendorf. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command , Alaskan NORAD Region , Eleventh Air Force , the 3rd Wing, and some...
or
Fort RichardsonFort Richardson is a United States Army installation in the U.S. state of Alaska, adjacent to the city of Anchorage.- History :Fort Richardson was named for the military pioneer explorer, Brig. Gen. Wilds P. Richardson, who served three tours of duty in the rugged Alaska territory between 1897 and...
land, and insist that this would pose a security risk . Interconnecting with existing Anchorage freeways and other arteries presents an additional challenge, because various neighborhoods, commercial areas, and industrial areas lie between the U.S. Air Force and Army land and the existing transportation infrastructure.
The Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA) came under scrutiny in September 2006 when reports surfaced that its lead staff had received 20% to 30% raises at a secret board meeting in August, raising to a typical salary of $130,000 per year.
Governor
Sarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician who served as Governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009 and was the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2008....
has been criticized for supporting the project, with one attorney for an environmentalist group suggesting she only supports it because it serves the area that she comes from. Palin's running mate in the 2008 presidential election
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
opposes the bridge, calling the bill funding it and the Gravina Bridge a "monstrosity" that was "terrifying in its fiscal consequences".
Support
Supporters of the bridge, which is popular with developers, argue the bridge would be two miles long, and would allow the population of Anchorage to expand into the Point MacKenzie area. The residents of the Matanuska/Susitna Valley currently have only a single road to get to and from Anchorage and points south. The
Parks HighwayThe George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
which runs through Willow, Houston and Wasilla, has to veer east and join the
Glenn HighwayThe Glenn Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending 187 miles from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway...
, which continues along a strip of land between
Chugach State ParkChugach State Park is a 495,204-acre state park in the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Chugach Mountains just east of the Anchorage Bowl, it is a very popular recreation destination...
and the military bases north of Anchorage. No other routes are available for driving to or from the Valley and Anchorage. The proposed bridge would allow access in a more direct northward route from Anchorage to Houston and Willow and would provide a secondary north/south roadway to Wasilla.
Defending Knik Arm Bridge spending
In October 2005 Alaska Senator
Ted StevensTheodore Fulton Stevens is a former United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009. Stevens was President pro tempore in the 108th and 109th Congresses from January 3, 2003, to January 3, 2007...
opposed diverting Alaska's funding for the Gravina and Knik Arm Bridge funds to Louisiana to repair bridge damage in
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
. In his speech on the senate floor, Stevens threatened to quit Congress if the funds were removed from his state.
RepublicansThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
in
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
dropped the specific allocation for the two bridges, allowing Alaska to apply the money to current transportation projects. Former Alaska Governor
Frank MurkowskiFrancis Hughes Murkowski is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.-Early life and career:...
planned to fully fund both bridges: "I am proposing we spend the maximum allowed."
As of mid-2006, Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL) proposed an amendment disallowing federal funds from being allocated to the bridge project. The amendment passed the
HouseThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in short order, but was held up in the
SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
. According to the Alaska DOT,
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
is one of only two states in the nation to not have a state-funded transportation improvement capital program.
Gov. MurkowskiFrancis Hughes Murkowski is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.-Early life and career:...
signed into law a capital budget which contained start-up amounts for both the Knik Arm Bridge and the Gravina Island Bridge (the latter was canceled after a Congressional earmark was stripped ).
Delay and lawsuit
In 2009, an Anchorage transportation policy committee decided to postpone the project and remove it from Anchorage's short term transportation plan until 2018. The cities of
HoustonHouston is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,202 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Houston is located at ....
and Wasilla responded with a lawsuit claiming the committee did not have the authority to delay the project without consulting them.
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