Knik Arm Bridge

Coordinates: 61°17′N 149°54′W / 61.28°N 149.9°W / 61.28; -149.9

The proposed bridge would cross Knik Arm in north Anchorage

The Knik Arm Bridge is a proposed highway crossing of the Knik Arm portion of Cook Inlet in north Anchorage, Alaska.

The bridge would expand the commuter belt for Southcentral Alaska, connecting the Matanuska/Susitna Valley (Mat-Su) with Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. The Mat-Su Valley is the fastest growing region of Alaska.^[1] Proponents say the bridge would stimulate new housing construction in Mat-Su and open up more land for commercial and industrial development.^[2] It would also provide an alternate route from Anchorage to points north.^[3] Cost estimates for the bridge are around $1 billion.^[4] Some are concerned that the current $1 Billion estimate is low; that estimate is an increase from the 2009 Department of Transportation Estimate of $686 million.^[5] Original funding for the Knik Arm Bridge was provided by an earmark written by Don Young. The same bill funded the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere." ^[6]

Opponents suggest that a proposed Knik Arm ferry is a more cost-effective solution. The ice-breaking ferry, partially funded by the U.S. Navy, was completed and christened the M/V Susitna in June 2010. A terminal on the Mat-Su side has also been completed, but as of September 2011, the ferry is berthed in storage and the project is on hold pending resolution of disputes about where to build the dock on the Anchorage side.^[7]

Idea

The idea of a bridge or causeway across Knik Arm was first envisioned in 1923 by Alaska Railroad engineers.^[8] In 1955 a group of Anchorage businessmen studied it again.^[8] At that time, the cost estimate was $25 million ($194 million in 2008 dollars). The development of Seward's Success in the late-1960s called for the development of both an aerial tramway and monorail to span the Knik Arm.^[9] 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 or KABATA, created by the Alaska Legislature in 2003 to develop a method of construction, financing, design, operation and maintenance of the bridge.^[10]

Proposed townsites

In December of 2013, consultants and urban planners financed by the Mat-Su Assembly began evaluating proposed sites for where new residential development might take place in and around Point MacKenzie, the bridge's eastern terminus.^[11] The evaluations will look at future roads as well as the potential for modern water and sewer treatment "pocket" plants that are less extensive than traditional wastewater treatment facilities.^[12] The step towards such an evaluation is important, because Point MacKenzie currently lacks siginifncant infrastructure to support residential development in the event the Knik Arm Bridge is ever built.

Criticism and controversy

View of area from space. The bridge would cross from the city to Point MacKenzie, Alaska the green area to the NW of the gray city of Anchorage

Many Government Hill residents oppose the plan since many of the options presented would bisect the neighborhood and raze parts of it.^[13] 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.^[14] There is also concern it could threaten a population of beluga whales despite receiving a biological opinion of 'no jeopardy' from the National Marine Fisheries Service.^[15] Interconnecting with existing Anchorage freeways and other arteries presents an additional challenge.

Original funding for the Knik Arm Bridge was provided by an earmark written by Don Young. The same bill funded the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere." ^[16]

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 an executive session in August, raising to a typical salary of $130,000 per year. KABATA produced a 14 minute video which cost $57,490 including airtime.^[17]

Former Governor Sarah Palin 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.^[18] Palin's running mate in the 2008 presidential election John McCain opposes the bridge, calling the bill funding it and the Gravina Island Bridge a "monstrosity" that was "terrifying in its fiscal consequences".^[18]

In 2011, the city of Anchorage filed a lawsuit to force the federal government to drop its green light for the controversial Knik Arm bridge project, arguing that it would hurt the Port of Anchorage.^[19]

Some people, including activist and investor Jamie Kenworthy, believe that the toll revenue estimates provided to rationalize construction are unrealistic, as well.^[20]

Because of all of the concerns, the demise of the project has been expected for years.^[21]

Support

Supporters of the bridge believe that the bridge would allow the growing population of the region to expand into the Point MacKenzie area.^[22] The approach road and connectors, along with the bridge total about 10 miles from Downtown Anchorage, about the same commuting distance as other available land in Anchorage. The residents of the Matanuska/Susitna Valley currently have only a single road to get to and from Anchorage and points south and Anchorage residents only have a single route to all points north. The Parks Highway which runs through Willow, Alaska, Houston, Alaska and Wasilla, joins the Glenn Highway, which continues along a strip of land between Chugach State Park and the military bases north of Anchorage. The Knik Arm Bridge and connecting roads would provide a secondary north/south roadway to Wasilla. There is however concern that the only paved connecting road on the Matanuska/Susitna Borough side of the bridge, which is the Knik Goose Bay Road, is presently overcapacity and listed as one of the four most dangerous roads in the state.^[23] The commuting distance for the vast majority of all existing residents of the Matanuska/Susitna Valley would not be lessened by taking the Knik Arm Bridge, a factor that Bridge critics say make KABATA's current revenue forecasts from the Bridge Tolls overstated.^[24]

Defending Knik Arm Bridge spending

In October 2005 Alaska Senator Ted Stevens opposed diverting Alaska's funding for the Gravina and Knik Arm Bridge funds to Louisiana to repair bridge damage in Hurricane Katrina. In his speech on the senate floor, Stevens threatened to quit Congress if the funds were removed from his state.^[25] Republicans in Congress dropped the specific allocation for the two bridges, allowing Alaska to apply the money to current transportation projects. Governor Frank Murkowski planned to fully fund both bridges: "I am proposing we spend the maximum allowed."^{[citation needed]}

Delay and lawsuit

In 2009 Anchorage Metro Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS) decided to postpone the project and remove it from Anchorage's short term transportation plan until 2018. The cities of Houston and Wasilla responded with a lawsuit because AMATS did not have the authority to delay the project, which is a National Highway System route.^[26] In March 2010, the AMATS Policy Committee with new members, reversed their previous decision and re-instated the bridge into the short term transportation plan.^[27]

Received "Record of Decision" from Federal Highways Administration

In December 2010 the FHWA issued a "Record of Decision" accepting the Environmental Impact Statement, after over seven years and approximately $53 Million spent on studies, preliminary designs, public relations and cost estimating.^[28] KABATA has stated that they have asked their Toll and Revenue Consultant Wilbur Smith Associates ^[29] to re-visit their revenue and toll forecasts to reflect conditions that have changed since 2005, including revised population estimates for the Matanuska Susitna Borough by the University of Alaska Anchorage's Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), that are as much as 50% lower than those forecasts used in the EIS to show that the Toll Bridge was "financially feasible".

Legislative Action

Alaska State Senator Linda Menard and House Representative Mark Neuman introduced a set of companion bills in 2011 to establish a project reserve fund and clarify that the project is an infrastructure project backed by the state. These changes were necessitated by the national 2008 financial crisis. It would allow the state to repay the private investors when toll revenue is building up in early years after opening.^[30]

Senate Bill 079 sets aside $150 Million into a "reserve fund",paid by the State General Funds to cover the estimated deficits for the first three years.^[31] Senate Bill 080 says KABATA bonds will now be "obligations of the state."^[32]

KABATA CFO Kevin Hemenway told the Legislature's transportation committees that if the reserve fund dropped far enough "it would be subject to appropriation for replenishment."^[33]

The bills passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

In 2013 a legislative audit found that KABATA had overestimated potential revenue from tolls, leading to a decision to place the organization under the direct control of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, essentially stripping KABATA of any independent authority. The move is also expected to significantly slow the project, with AHFC explicitly rejecting any sort of timetable for completion.^[34]

The day after KABATA was merged into AHFC the funding bill was passed, obligating the state for $1.14 billion for the project.^[35]

References

External links

• Anchorage Daily News
• Map of proposed routes
• Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority: the official project web site