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Advisory group says Knik Arm Bridge should be delayed, others question if it should be killed
23 June 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An advisory group is seeking a delay in the proposed Knik Arm bridge project.
The group says the project should be pushed back about a decade, but that planning for ways to finance and build it should continue. Meanwhile, design and environmental work on the bridge would continue, as well as finding ways to finance the bridge, estimated at about $680 million.
The Anchorage Assembly has a public hearing Wednesday on whether the project should be deleted from the area's long-range transportation plan altogether. A policy committee of state and city officials is set to take up the question Thursday.
The latest proposal to delay is a compromise forged by the AMATS Technical Committee, which voted unanimously last week to recommend delaying construction on the project until after 2018, instead of the presently targeted 2011. The project also would add a rail link as well as bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
If the Assembly votes, it would be advisory only. The final decision is up to the AMATS Policy Committee, a group composed of two state officials, two Assembly members and, until July 1, acting Anchorage Mayor Matt Claman. The new mayor, bridge supporter Dan Sullivan, will take the seat then.
Officials with the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority -- the agency created by the Legislature in 2003 to advocate for and oversee the project -- say the process of killing the bridge has been rushed through without a public review.
One policy committee member, Gordon Keith, said the compromise suggested by the technical experts at least would keep the project alive. Keith is a strong project supporter.
Keith, as well as Mayor-elect Sullivan, said they like the idea of adding the train track to the project but Keith said that would also make it more expensive.
"This probably makes some sense," Sullivan said, adding that the railroad's interest helped make the compromise possible.
"It allows time for possible redesign of the bridge. In fact, there's thought now of making it a railroad bridge only for the first phase," he said.
The prospect of deleting the project came about after city elections in 2008, which produced a new balance of power on both the Assembly and the policy committee.
Assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg, who also serves on the policy committee, said Monday she still thinks the bridge is a bad idea that will siphon years of federal highway construction money from more important road projects.
The two other city members on the policy committee -- Claman and Assemblyman Patrick Flynn -- were warmer to the compromise.
"I want to look at it some more," Claman said, "but ... I view the compromise favorably."
Flynn said he will probably vote for pushing the project back rather than killing it outright.
23 June 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An advisory group is seeking a delay in the proposed Knik Arm bridge project.
The group says the project should be pushed back about a decade, but that planning for ways to finance and build it should continue. Meanwhile, design and environmental work on the bridge would continue, as well as finding ways to finance the bridge, estimated at about $680 million.
The Anchorage Assembly has a public hearing Wednesday on whether the project should be deleted from the area's long-range transportation plan altogether. A policy committee of state and city officials is set to take up the question Thursday.
The latest proposal to delay is a compromise forged by the AMATS Technical Committee, which voted unanimously last week to recommend delaying construction on the project until after 2018, instead of the presently targeted 2011. The project also would add a rail link as well as bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
If the Assembly votes, it would be advisory only. The final decision is up to the AMATS Policy Committee, a group composed of two state officials, two Assembly members and, until July 1, acting Anchorage Mayor Matt Claman. The new mayor, bridge supporter Dan Sullivan, will take the seat then.
Officials with the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority -- the agency created by the Legislature in 2003 to advocate for and oversee the project -- say the process of killing the bridge has been rushed through without a public review.
One policy committee member, Gordon Keith, said the compromise suggested by the technical experts at least would keep the project alive. Keith is a strong project supporter.
Keith, as well as Mayor-elect Sullivan, said they like the idea of adding the train track to the project but Keith said that would also make it more expensive.
"This probably makes some sense," Sullivan said, adding that the railroad's interest helped make the compromise possible.
"It allows time for possible redesign of the bridge. In fact, there's thought now of making it a railroad bridge only for the first phase," he said.
The prospect of deleting the project came about after city elections in 2008, which produced a new balance of power on both the Assembly and the policy committee.
Assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg, who also serves on the policy committee, said Monday she still thinks the bridge is a bad idea that will siphon years of federal highway construction money from more important road projects.
The two other city members on the policy committee -- Claman and Assemblyman Patrick Flynn -- were warmer to the compromise.
"I want to look at it some more," Claman said, "but ... I view the compromise favorably."
Flynn said he will probably vote for pushing the project back rather than killing it outright.