Stretching ninety miles along Alaska’s Inside Passage, the Lynn Canal is North America’s deepest fjord. It’s waters were the lifeblood of the Klondike Gold Rush, and now offer a window into the wild that defines Alaska. The Lynn Canal also ties the people of Alaska’s “Southeast” together. It is their highway.

But for over three decades, the fight over a new highway, a land-based road running alongside the canal, has divided communities and left the future of the Lynn Canal in doubt.

Blue Highway begins as a film about a kayak trip tracing the historic Lynn Canal travels of John Muir, but becomes a study of both sides of the battle over the proposed Juneau Access Road. After more than 30 years of debate, is there anything left to say, and can two sides separated by environmental, economic and cultural concerns ever come together?

In all the opinions proposed on road access up Lynn Canal, there is one possibility that has been glossed over and another not even mentioned, or at least I haven’t seen it.

The first is a ferry from Bridget Cove to William Henry Bay, and then a road up the west side of Lynn Canal to Haines. This road was ready to go to bid during the Hammond administration, except for one piece of private land that the state did not buy.

The other option is Red Swanson’s idea of more than 20 years ago, which was to take the road to just past the Comet Mine area and have a ferry run from there to the southwest side of the Chilkat Peninsula. The ferry run would be approximately 25 miles long, much shorter than the present ferry voyage.

The upper end of Lynn Canal would be served by small ferries because we would still need service between Haines and Skagway. As for myself, I like Red Swanson’s idea.

Albert Shaw

Juneau

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.

To date, every single problematic aspect of building the Juneau access road has a sound and valid solution to it. I agree with Gov. Sarah Palin’s statement while she was running for governor: “I do not understand why anybody would not want a road.” There must be some hidden agenda in the mindset of the anti-road group that we mere mortals are unaware of. Perhaps they are afraid of the inbound traffic on what would become the world’s most beautiful road?

The pro-road people have continually been put on the defensive side of this argument, as they fend off one potential problem after the next. What comes next? The defense of the endangered left-handed tree frog’s habitat? The question should not be should we have a road, but why we didn’t get one 50 years ago.

Transportation is the life blood of any community. Comparing ferry boats to road systems is like comparing apples and oranges. A ferry boat’s service is like a blood transfusion. A road is like an intact vein or major artery. When we discuss the road issue, we are talking about the very survival of Juneau. Even if they move the capital, we have a chance of survival as a viable community with a road, whereas without one we’ll become a ghost town for summer tourists to visit.

Since we pro-roaders continue to be on the defensive side of this argument, perhaps some of you who are undecided on the issues will keep an open mind to the matter and focus on the end product of having an access road. My reasons are numerous, although I am not anti ferry boat. In fact, the road will help the ferry system, mainly be eliminating the need for up to two ferries to ply the Lynn Canal route, which should result in better ferry service for all SE Alaska. If two brand new ferries were built today, in 50 years they would have to be recycled into razor blades, whereas a road would continue to service everyone.

I have followed with interest the actions for a second crossing here in Juneau. Have you ever wondered why the second crossing is a planned bridge instead of a new ferry crossing Gastineau Channel? The same reasoning applies to the access road. Let common sense prevail.

Mark S. Patterson
Tee Harbor

New! In August of 2005, the Alaska State Department of Transportation announced that the proposed Juneau Road will no longer link Juneau with the continental road system. Instead, the State is pushing a revised plan to pave 50 miles of the Lynn Canal, stopping 18 miles short of the next town, Skagway. Travelers will then have to board a ferry to reach a continental road system. For hundreds of millions of dollars, the State of Alaska wants to “extend the dead end”.

Here are the reasons:

LACK OF LOCAL SUPPORT
The communities of Haines and Skagway in Upper Lynn Canal have consistently opposed the road, asking for improved ferry service. In the last referendum vote on the issue, Juneau residents voted AGAINST a road and FOR ferry service.

A LONG, DANGEROUS DRIVE
The Juneau Road would have a “very high” avalanche danger rating. The State estimates that avalanches will keep the road closed for at least one month out of every year. In addition to these dangers, drivers will also have to contend with icy freeze-thaw conditions typical in Southeast Alaska while navigating a winding roadway along steep cliffs.

Once a traveler arrives at the Katzehin terminal they may have to wait hours or even over night for the unreserved shuttle ferry. When wait times for ferries are included it will actually take longer to travel between Juneau and Haines under DOT’s proposed plan as compared with travel aboard the existing fast ferry.

In the over 30 years of operation, there have been no safety-related deaths on board Alaska’s ferry system.
Photo courtesy of Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION

Almost a million visitors sail through the Inside Passage each year on cruise ships and on the Alaska Marine Highway to view the spectacular Tongass National Forest. The Lynn Canal, one of the world’s deepest fjords, is a perennial favorite. Instead of wilderness, visitors would view trucks and RVs lumbering along what one resident called “a horizontal strip mine.”

The road will put a ring of pavement around Berners Bay, a congressionally protected wild land treasured for its scenic value. Home to moose, bears, whales, beaver, salmon, sea lions, herring and bald eagles, Berners Bay is a unique national treasure.

The proposed road would come within half a mile of 88 bald eagle nests and skirt two major Steller sea lion haulouts. One of these sea lion “beaches,” the Gran Point haulout, has been designated as critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act.

WASTE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS
Despite a brand new $40 million ferry for the Lynn Canal, the road supporters want another $250 million (or more) of public money to build the Juneau Road. In the summer of 2005 Congress passed SAFETEA-LU, the pork-laden transportation bill highly criticized by the national media and taxpayer groups. The bill contained a $15 million set-aside for the Juneau Road. The rest of the project would be paid for with state and/or federal dollars.

According to the Department of Transportation, funding the Juneau Road could cause the delay or elimination of other transportation projects currently in the State’s budget.

The Department of Transportation has a poor record for accurately estimating the cost of similar mega-projects. The Whittier Tunnel actually cost $89 million, even though DOT officials originally estimated it would come in at $48 million. The department hasn’t even begun construction of the proposed Gravina Bridge in Ketchikan, and already that project has risen 37% to a whopping $315 million.

The State has argued that roads are cheaper to maintain than ferries. The latest DOT study, however, found that the Juneau Road will cost the state 45% more over a 30-year period than continuing with the current ferry service in the Lynn Canal when all of the costs are considered, including construction and refurbishment costs, operating costs, and revenues.

According to the Department of Transportation, building the road will not result in any significant economic development for Alaska. The only growth will be in the amount of Recreational Vehicles trying to squeeze into Juneau. DOT predicts the number of RVs in town could quadruple in the first year the road is completed.
courtesy: http://www.juneauroad.com/facts.html

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.

The battle over the Lynn Canal and the proposed “Juneau Road” has galvanized communities throughout Alaska’s “southeast.” Leading the charge in support of the road has been Citizens Pro-Road, a grass-roots group fighting to see the road become reality.

In this exclusive interview from the upcoming documentary “Blue Highway”, Dick Knapp, head of Citizens Pro-Road, discusses the arguments for and against the “Juneau Access Road.”

Stephen Mick, a filmmaker from Austin, Texas, set out to shoot an adventure video with the sunglass maker Costa Del Mar and wound up making a documentary about this story. Here, Mick answers some questions about “Blue Highway,” the finished documentary set to debut next Friday at the Teva Mountain Games.

What prompted you to put together a documentary about this issue?

The film was originally going to be more about a sea kayak adventure retracing the route of John Muir, who many consider to be the father of modern conservation. His “Travels In Alaska,” and our relationship with the Alaska Mountain Guides led us to choose the Lynn Canal as the piece of his adventure that we would try to re-create. The road issue was certainly something we were familiar with through AMG, but the original plan was for it to be a smaller segment in a larger adventure/fishing film.
As we got closer and closer to the start of our trip, the weather kept getting worse and worse. By the time we got to Juneau, a storm had formed that filled the Gulf of Alaska, but we decided that we’d give it a go anyway and take our chances. Once we got in the boats and reached Berners Bay, it was pretty clear we weren’t going any further. Five-foot seas in a sea kayak just weren’t our idea of a good time. So we loaded up and paddled back to Juneau. This was really when we decided that the road project was a bigger story that needed to be told, and we spent the rest of our time in Alaska trying to meet and talk to as many people as we could to help us tell that story.

In the pre-release information and from the trailer, it appears you go to great lengths to tell both sides of the story. Do you (and your sponsor Costa Del Mar) have a viewpoint on this or are you intent on letting the viewer draw his or her own conclusions?

As a filmmaker, I think it’s hard to keep your personal feelings out of any film. That said, we certainly tried hard to not only bring opinions from both sides of the issue to light, but to allow those on both sides to make the points they felt were important. The arguments on both sides have merit, and I don’t think it serves anyone to create a film that sits so obviously on one side of the fence. Now I have my opinion, and I think people would be surprised to find out what it is and why I believe it. But viewers should always be free to find their own point of view through a film like this. Most importantly, wherever people find themselves on the issue, I hope they’re moved enough to act on those feelings by voicing their support or opposition to the project directly to Alaska’s Governor.

Between this “Road to Nowhere,” the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” that surfaced in the last presidential race, and the Bristol Bay controversy, Alaska seems to be the national focal point of the conflict between the 20th century notion of progress and the 21st century ethic of preservation and sustainability. What is it about Alaska that draws people to both sides?

The great thing about Alaska is that’s it’s filled with natural beauty and seemingly endless wilderness. This has attracted sportsmen, adventurers and others who want to enjoy that beauty, and in some cases, protect it from any and all development. The great thing about Alaska is that it’s incredibly rich in valuable natural resources. This has always attracted those who are willing to invest their hard work and in some cases vast sums of money, to help remove whatever resources they can benefit from. Gold. Oil. Copper. The question becomes can we reconcile the motivations of both groups?

$400 million, the estimated cost of the project, seems like a lot to pay for a 51 mile road benefiting about 35,000 people–or about half the crowd at a pro football game. Are there valid economic arguments for doing so? Are there ways the money could be better spent?

The economics of life in Alaska’s “southeast” are difficult to say the least. Juneau and the other communities are so isolated, and travel between them is expensive and inconvenient. The ferries of the Alaska Marine Highway connect the communities, but the ferry system is costly to run. Each year the operating costs of the ferry system far outstrip the income, and new ferries can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. These costs fall mostly to the state to cover, a burden some feel could be lessened by building the road. Also, in today’s economy, the road itself could become an industry, with jobs created to build, maintain and repair the road. And when you factor in the idea (whether you believe it or not) that not building the road could result in the capital being moved out of Juneau, the economic issues become complex to say the least.
On the other hand, most of the money used to build the road would come from the federal government, specifically the near-bankrupt Federal Highway Trust Fund. So, even if you believe that the road will cost what some people say it will cost, there’s still the question of who pays for it. It’s not as simple as saying there’s other projects we could better spend the money on, because the money doesn’t really exist.

The debate over the road aside, can you share a little about experiencing the natural beauty of the Lynn Canal from a kayak?

To be honest, Alaska has more natural beauty than I think most people could even imagine. The Lynn Canal is definitely a piece of that beauty that many people get to enjoy from the water, whether in cruise ships, Alaska Marine Highway ferries or in sea kayaks like we were. But what really struck me wasn’t the beauty we found on the water, it was the complete wilderness and isolation we discovered on land and in the air. The terrain in and around Berners Bay is totally unspoiled, and two steps into the woods quickly take you a few notches down the food chain. From a float plane, it hardly seems real. Steep mountainsides that disappear into blue water. Forests in every shade of green. Lakes high above the Lynn Canal full of fish. Seeing the area from the water is spectacular, but I’d hope that anyone who visits the area takes the opportunity to get off the water and into the real wilderness that’s all around.

After talking to people with passionate views on both sides of the issue, do you believe there’s a middle ground?

I hope so. But I have to be realistic. The death of true debate around this issue seems to mirror a similar lack of interest in finding common ground our society faces on many issues. We have voices on either side of any debate arguing and shouting, urging the rest of us to choose sides rather than to come together to talk about our differences. The end result is polarization and paralysis. What people need to remember is that on any issue, there are always those who find themselves somewhere in between, and are willing to listen to logic and reason. Those are the people that need to be more involved in debates like this, and I hope “Blue Highway” brings at least some of them to the table so that their voices can be heard.