By PAULETTE SIMPSON
The latest version of the capital budget reappropriates approximately $37 million from designated Juneau Access funds for use as federal match for transportation projects all over Alaska. Considering the State’s precarious financial position, I can’t blame the Legislature for re-appropriating these funds. Nonetheless, the story must be told.
During the Clinton Administration, (1993-2001) the timber industry in Southeast Alaska shed some 4,000 direct and indirect jobs – mostly in Ketchikan, Sitka and Wrangell. The population of Southeast has been in serious decline ever since. Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) ridership has mirrored the region’s demographic slide.
In 2024, the AMHS carried 185,000 passengers and 65,000 vehicles – down from a peak of nearly 400,000 passengers and 110,000 vehicles during the early 1990s.
To keep the AMHS from drowning in a sea of red ink, due to ever-increasing costs and declining ridership, when Governor Murkowski came into office (2002-2006), the state correctly changed course and appropriated $60 million for Juneau Access – the construction of a road connecting the Capital City to the Alaska highway system.
This road option had actually been selected by Murkowski’s predecessor, Gov. Tony Knowles, in early January 2000 as the “preferred alternative” to address transportation in Southeast. Knowles, however, abruptly suspended work on the project a few weeks later and ordered the construction of two untested “fast ferries.” Note: British Colombia had just shut down its “fast ferry” program.
Knowles’ two ferries cost Alaska about $80 million plus another $50 million for terminal modifications. Expensive to operate and problematic from the get-go, the ships failed miserably and eventually were sold for $5 million.
Why Juneau Access: By shortening the northern terminus of the system by 100 miles and eliminating the need for two mainline ferries in Lynn Canal, hundreds of millions of dollars in capital and operating outlays could be saved. Southeast would then have an integrated, efficient and reliable transportation network that both the state and users could afford.
For over 20 years, local road advocacy groups met to promote Juneau Access. Often in attendance to offer expertise were three retired engineers who had served in leadership positions with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT) – Bob Martin, Jon Scribner and Sandy Williams.
We called them our “Road Scholars.” They loved Alaska and especially loved Juneau. All were men of competence and integrity, dedicated subject-matter experts in their chosen field of engineering. A commonality they shared was their devotion to the cause of Juneau Access. They supported the project from both a professional and community perspective.
In a 2002 Juneau Empire “My Turn,” Bob Martin articulated his staunch support for Juneau Access by characterizing it as fundamentally a freedom issue. Bob’s ending quote arguing in favor of the road was, “Let my people go!”
Jon Scribner was never more animated than when talking with his dear friend (and former Juneau mayor) Jamie Parsons about the need for Juneau Access.
Sandy Williams was our Road Scholar historian who arrived in Juneau at statehood in 1959 and worked to plan, design and construct our new state’s transportation system. When Sandy testified before the Legislature, he enlightened lawmakers about the early days when the Alaska Marine Highway Service (AMHS) was first initiated, noting that it was never meant to provide a permanent solution to transportation in Southeast Alaska. In fact, the AMHS was conceived as an interim service to coastal communities. Roads were always envisioned as the state developed its infrastructure.
Our data-driven Road Scholars knew that to sustain and ultimately save the AMHS, and the island communities that depend on it, ferry links all over Southeast, not just northern Lynn Canal, had to be shortened, and roads built wherever possible.
The benefit to the environment has always been that automobiles (like Juneau’s 1,000 electric vehicles) driving a highway burn exponentially less fossil fuel than a ferry does to carry those vehicles the same distance.
When Gov. Bill Walker and his handlers sank Juneau Access in 2017, they lit a match to $30 million worth of professional engineering, economic and environmental studies* that validated the 51-mile road project. This, perhaps inadvertently, effectively scuttled the AMHS.
Unspent Juneau Access funds, however, remained in place and many held out hope that the project would eventually be revived. Apparently, that is not to be.
In the end, the loss is due to the total lack of vision and leadership of so-called “public servants” who caved to political manipulation, environmentalist hyperbole and sentimental arguments – in full denial of reality – instead of building Southeast for the future.
It won’t happen in my lifetime, but hopefully, a new generation of leadership will someday usher in a new era of sensible and sustainable travel in Southeast – by shortening ferry runs and building roads wherever feasible.
Until then, we’re just re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
* https://ftfakfoundation.org/area-of-focus/juneau-access/
Paulette Simpson is a longtime Juneau resident and civic leader.
If I could drive to Juneau ….
“If I could drive to Juneau” I still wouldn’t want to go there.
Editor:
After watching the efforts to clear the recent road rock slide closure here in Ketchikan, the thought of expense estimates are for the most part, close to pie in the sky for accuracy and would be on the proposed road out of Juneau. Can you just visualize 51 miles of cutting solid rock to facilitate a level enough platform for a two lane highway (paved!!)?
It would not be unfair to agree with the author towards the demise of the AMHS. It has and will continue till the Columbia fatally fails,as it will soon with in months if not short years. You can not expect a single vessel with the alternating back up Kennicott (Currently in for an extended several months ship yard in the lower 48) to maintain year after year without replacement which as the plans project, are so far out that failure is guaranteed, forcing a equipment shut down of the system in total.
Why the dismal projection? For evidence the need for the major maintenance need on the Columbia, shafts and propellers of the vessel are currently due for replacement. The decision to extend (till failure) the live of this need has to be made due to the lack of vessels, cost,and desire to have the mission of the AMHS destroyed.
So, in closing, the lament of the loss of a hard link can be sympathized with along with those of us in support of the ferry system. It is a “Loss Loss for both.
Cheers
Al, i worked on the last road built by D.O.T.
The 11 miles between Skagway to Carcross. The year was 1976.
Yes I can imagine cutting a road bed from the solid rock walls you describe, because we did just that!
Thank you Paulette for this article.
Bill Walker killed the bridge to Mat-Su, raided the PF, and killed Juneau Access. Unmitigated disasters and shortsightedness. Since we are raiding the PF anyway, why not spend it on something useful that lasts, rather than throwing it away on a bunch of Useless short term nonsense with no return? Of course, that would require thoughtful leadership, something we have not had for a very long time.
Walker did all those things so he could build the gas pipeline, and in doing so admitted that he was a commie rat.
My question has always been, why do we have State Ferry’s?
Western Alaska doesn’t have ferries or roads… We definitely don’t take our trucks and dogs on grocery trips to the hubs… We choose to live remote and we pay our own full bore plane tickets….. So why not South East??
Willy, The By- Pass Mail subsidy to your region dwarfs anything the AMHS receives.
Politics often works in direct contravention to common sense. Truly pathetic.
One again, this article proves yet another snafu created by the disgraced, former governor Bill Walker. Old Bill must have been too busy padding the pocketbooks of his union boss buddies and corrupt lawyer friends. Or, maybe Bill was preoccupied with keeping his soulmate Lt.. Governor away from underaged girls. Whatever the case, Walker certainly didn’t care about the needs of average Alaskans. History will show that Walker was the most dishonest of Alaska’s governors. Not a proud legacy.
Thank You Paulette for a well written article. It makes very little sense to keep denying the most efficient way for Juneau to connect to the rest of the country. Unfortunately Walker for reasons unknown chose to make sure that did not happen. One question I have is what is to be done with the bridge girders that have been sitting on rented property in Tacoma for a very long time?
Disgusting amounts of mismanagement, but then again, what else is new?
But wait, Lisa Murkowski is going to save all of this with electric ferries. Our troubles will be over.
Thanks for the history lesson. I learned some things.
Of course we already knew that greenies run Juno, but this is Excellent history.
Thanks for clarification Ms. Simpson.
Decent summary of missed opportunities by multiple administrations in the past.
Just so everyone knows, the two fast ferries that were deployed, one in Prince William Sound and the other in Lynn Canal in Southeast Alaska were very popular with the public, had considerably fewer crew than conventional ferries, and were very fast, allowing for day vessel operations that didn’t require crew quarters or a labor intensive galley operation. Why the Department of Transporation decided to sell the ferries is still a mystery. The vessels wound up over in Spain where they are doing remarkably well in revenue service.
The author is right to be despondent about how the ferry system has been operated for decades. It’s been horribly managed under Frank Murkowski, Sean Parnell, and atrociously bungled by Bill Walker and then trashed nearly beyond redemption under Mike Dunleavy.
At this point, the best way to provide adequate, predictable service in Lynn Canal at a price poinst that is somewhat affordable while still using existing vessels is to construct a small and efficient shuttle vessel that can ferry vehicles accross the mouth of Berner’s Bay construct a road up the East side of Lynn Canal to K-flats (this still has engineering and construction challenges but not nearly as difficult as trying to construct road all the way to Skagway), and then use the M/V Hubard to shuttle vehicles from the K-flats terminal to Haines and Skagway. This proposal was made years ago and was rejected by the road nuts at DOT who insisted on trying to build a road all the way from Skagway to Juneau, one that still needed a shuttle to Haines and that was hugely expensive an cut through Berners Bay, a route that would have had expensive bridging and decking along the shoreline. But no, we couldn’t compromise and get something done that would have worked. As a result, nothing was accomplished other than some studies that will never be used.
The Governor needs to put an adult in charge and come up with a realistic and workable proposal that will provide predictable and reliable ferry service that is reality based in terms of cost and environmental impacts. Will this happen? It hasn’t in decades, including the 6+ years Mike Dunleavy has been at the helm.
Perhaps the public will get lucky but counting on that is like waiting for a full PFD. It’s unlikely to occur.
“The Lynn Canal Highway, or Juneau Access Road, is a proposed road between Skagway and City and Borough of Juneau, the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska. Such a road, if built, would still require ferry access to connect Juneau to the Alaskan highway network. The new road would be 47.9 miles long, built at an estimated cost of $574 million”
– wiki ‘https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Canal_Highway
Juneau is a disaster and not worth a plug nickel. Every aspect of the town carries an inflated and artificial value that needs to end. In the writer’s view the town must be worth many millions to all Alaskans when that’s definitely not the case as several decades of ‘move the capitol’ measures illustrate. Worse yet, it exists primarily to insulate law makers from the electorate. Move the capitol to where the bulk of the population has lived over the recent century and cut the cord.
You could’ve dove a little deeper and mentioned the neglected 60yr old Tustumena that covers the longest route of any ferry anywhere in the US. Why no mention of the fraudulent contracts to build the Hubbard and Tazlina with Bow Doors when they had no docks to accommodate them? They had to weld the Bow Doors shut. Crew quarters were over looked in the design of both, even though they had to know the route’s were not Day Boat possible. Waste, fraud, and Abuse. No excuse. We need D.O.G.E. in Alaska. Instead of trying to make the Capital accessible we need to move the Capital.
Joe, let me explain the mystery. Newton’s 2nd law, F=ma, indicates the greater the acceleration the greater the force. The higher velocity results from higher acceleration. The 3rd law applies when the ferry hits an ocean wave or swell while in faster motion; the reverse acceleration at impact creates a proportionally greater resultant reaction force against the boat. In simpler terms, the rough waters in Lynn Canal are not compatible with fast vessels; the boat gets beat apart. Ignoring that reality resulted in a boondoggle. An example of politics prevailing over common sense.
Your closing suggestion of a realistic proposal for reliable ferry service is no ferry service in Lynn Canal at all. Rather, the only reliable service is a road linking Juneau to the world. The unions you represent can serve other Southeast communities.
Wayne: The fast ferry worked very well in Lynn Canal most of the time it was deployed there. There were rare times in the winter, especially given certain tide and wind conditions when operations were impacted but overall schedules were adhered to nicely. There were and are operational issues with any mode of transport in winter, including marine, aviation and surface.
In the event, the fast ferries were sold for a pittance which was a mistake. They’re doing great in ocean going service at present operated by an entity that knows what they’re doing.
But that’s really beside the point I was floating in my comment isn’t it?
Do you want better access than what we have at present?
If you do, why not shuttle across the mouth of Berners Bay, drive up a road to K-flats and shuttle over to Haines. That would allow much more predictable access at a lower cost compared to the all road scenario from Juneau to Skagway that is fantastically more expensive, had way more environmental and engineering challenges and at least one legal show stopper at present. And, you’d still need a shuttle ferry (the Hubbard), to connect with Haines in this so-called “all road” scenario.
Take your pick: improved access via drive-float, drive float or the status quo. There is no all drive option available if you consider Haines, which you must and the all road access to Skagway is a nonstarter for obvious reasons, especially cost.
If we are to have better, predictable access that included daily opportunities to travel to and from Haines & Skagway to Juneau adoption of the concept outlined here is one way to achieve success. It’s an idea that’s been around for decades but ignored by the geniuses at DOT who’ve dithered their way on this issue to nothingness.
Want better access? Do something practical that can actually get done. Want more studies that produce no tangible results? Keep demanding a full on road to Skagway.
Drive on.
Sure, I know you want the o