Gov. Mike Dunleavy said today he will continue to support future funding for the Silvertip Maintenance Station on the Kenai Peninsula during next year’s FY23 budget cycle.
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget will allocate Federal Highway Administration funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act to the station.
Silvertip is located at Mile 60 Seward Highway, three miles north of the Hope Junction, and keeps the mountain pass open between Turnagain Arm and Sterling during the winter months.
“Kenai area residents can rest assured that winter maintenance in the Turnagain Pass area of the Seward Highway will be in place for years to come,” Dunleavy said. “The safety of Alaskans and their families driving that section of the highway in winter is of the utmost importance for me and my administration.”
Dunleavy previously allocated federal funds to the Silvertip Station earlier this year for this winter and next winter. Today’s announcement means funding will be in place through the spring of 2024.
A broken clock is still correct twice a day.
What a cold hearted evil man as the real legal Alaskans still cling to life praying for relief.
Thanks Guv!! You got it right!! A vital artery for 100,000 (?) Alaskans!!
It was a terrible decision to “close” the Silvertip Maintenance Station in the first place. The manner in which it was done was pure politics. I made my opinion well known that the Silvertip Maintenance Station is a vital component in the network of maintenance stations, and reducing and changing the maintenance through that section would not result in a positive outcome. It took about a year, and tons of public pressure by many, along with Senator Peter Micciche practically begging Governor Dunleavy to override DOT Commissioner John MacKinnon and order the Commissioner to reopen it.
This is a serious problem throughout DOT, and those in the legislature that are responsible for oversight of matters in their relevant committees. To put it bluntly, many are simply tone-deaf to views expressed by real world boots on the ground professionals that have a tremendous amount of experience regarding these public safety matters. I have been on Governor Palin’s DOT Transition Team, offered a great deal of information to former Governor Walker, and provided Governor Dunleavy the same.
The problem is that no one truly cares. If they did, this camp would have never been closed.
Until a Governor understands that they will NEVER be able to fix problems or corruption in any department by simply replacing a commissioner when they assume office, things will never get better. If Alaskans are to have any hope, you need to go around the entrenched political bureaucracy that occupies the top tier of a department, and start from the boots on the ground perspective to see if the department is actually meeting its goals and obligations.
The views expressed here are my own. They are not related to or reflected as the views, opinions, or policies of the Department of Transportation or its staff. Will that work Art?
You should, never have closed this maintenance station. It’s a safety issue, Turnagain pass, it gets so much more snow then more roadways.
Thank you for the funding
The animus of previous legislators is what caused this danger road to increase the deaths and danger to the unsuspecting public they despise and supposedly represent. Mostly animus and arrogance of prominent Anchorage public servants. Praise God for Governor Dunleavy.
Funding it with free Covid money from the federal government-This doesn’t sound like a problem created by Covid.
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