New cost estimates boosting the Juneau Access Project to half a billion dollars has moved the road into the realm of “mega-projects,” a designation bringing with it new federal regulations.

A Federal Highway analysis of the 50.8 mile road up the east side of Lynn Canal is estimated to cost $491 million to complete, according to a Federal Highway Administration agency. So far $25 million has been spent.

The state’s estimate was somewhat lower at a total cost of $474 million.

The mega-project designation is designed to protect the federal government, which funds most projects of such scope, from bad or mismanaged projects that could spiral out of control.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is proposing a Juneau access road, but it is currently held up in court after a federal judge ruled the Environmental Impact Statement failed to adequately look at ferry options.

DOT project manager Reuben Yost said the designation is not a surprise.

“We knew that sooner or later we were going to get close to or trip that mark,” he said.

Among the new regulations are development of a project management plan and more federal involvement in the project, said Lois Epstein of the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project.

“They’re going to be scrutinizing the management, and scrutinizing the cost numbers more closely as well,” she said.

It is not something that Alaska projects usually face, Yost and Epstein said.

“I haven’t dealt with many projects that are this costly,” Epstein said.

The Juneau Access Project now exceeds Ketchikan’s Gravina Island “Bridge to Nowhere” in cost. Other likely mega-projects in Alaska include the Knik Arm Bridge and the proposed freeway connecting the Seward and Glenn Highways, both in the Anchorage area.

Yost said that because state officials knew they were getting close to the half billion dollar level, they knew they would need a cost estimate that would win approval from top federal highway officials. Yost said that was one of the reasons they chose the federal Highway Administration’s Western Federal Lands Center to conduct an outside cost estimate.

It is likely the federal agency would have confidence in its own subsidiary agency’s cost estimates,” he said.

In Alaska, project management plans are used for even much smaller projects, Yost said.

It is also not clear whether Juneau Access will remain a mega-project. A federal court ruling that eliminated the current preferred alternative – the road up Lynn Canal to the ferry terminal at the Katzehin River – could result in a much smaller project.

• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Juneau road project will cost the state nearly half a billion dollars.

The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities released a new cost estimate for Lynn Canal Highway and Katzehin Shuttle System.

DOT now says the project will cost $449 million, which is less than the Western Federal Land Division of the Federal Highway Administration’s estimate of $491 million.

Both estimates are based on designs done at the end of last year and reflect an increase in costs due to the increase in construction prices as well as changes to the design.

The project is currently on hold while the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals hears a request from the state to conduct more studies.

Despite Alaska’s size, politics in the state almost always feels like small-town politics. When it comes to the debate over the proposed Lynn Canal road, some politicians always seem to be at the center of the argument.

In an exclusive interview from the upcoming film “Blue Highway,” State Senator Kim Elton discusses life in Alaska’s “southeast,” the fight over the proposed “Juneau Road,” and the changes it could bring to the region.

JUNEAU – The Alaska Senate today decided not to endorse the controversial Juneau Road, but went ahead with an endorsement of the more widely supported Kensington Mine. Sen. Lisel McGuire, R-Anchorage, sponsored Senate Resolution 8, calling on Gov. Sarah Palin to ensure the many permits for the mine, owned by parent company Coeur D’Alene based in Idaho, remain active.

McGuire sponsored the resolution because the Juneau Senate seat is currently vacant.

The mine is currently awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on its waste disposal permit, which was earlier overturned by the Ninth Court of Appeals.

“We’re urging the governor to immediately implement those permits, should the Supreme Court rule in favor of Coeur and the Kensington Mine,” McGuire said.

Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, said completion of an access road up the east side of Lynn Canal would provide an economic benefit to the mine.

The road’s permits were overturned by the court after its Environmental Impact Statement was found to be inadequate for failing to consider additional ferry service instead of a road.

McGuire said she supported the road, but it was a different, and controversial, issue.

“It’s a wholly separate creature,” she said. “The resolution as it stands right now is clean, and has solid support.”

An amendment to add support for the road failed, with only Sens. Bunde, Gene Therriault, R-Anchorage, and Tom Wagoner, R-Kenai, voting in favor. All other senators opposed it.

The resolution supporting the mine passed unanimously. The House of Representatives passed a similar resolution Thursday.

Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 586-4816 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.