March 02, 2006
Thursday

Ketchikan, Alaska - The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced today that its new, 3-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Approval of the STIP means that federal funding for the projects in it, as well as funding for municipal planning organizations in Anchorage and Fairbanks, will be available for the upcoming construction season.

The approved STIP reflects changes from the draft STIP released in mid-November for public comment through December 31. It includes 180 projects that have been either moved up in the STIP priority list, or that were earmarked by Congress in the surface transportation authorization bill last year, but were not included in the draft because DOT did not have complete information on them.

DOT Commissioner Mike Barton said the process of getting the STIP finalized and out was more difficult than usual, for several reasons, but that he appreciated the work done by staff in compiling and cataloguing the public comments. Those comments were then used in finalizing the draft before it was submitted to FHWA.

"This final STIP shows a number of projects that we have been able to move forward because earmarked funds for the Gravina and Knik bridge projects were amended," Barton said. "This has provided approximately $179 million spread over five years. I am confident we have achieved a good balance between the need to go forward with large, regional connectors, such as the Knik Arm crossing, Gravina, and the Juneau Access project, and at the same time provide continuing funding for smaller, but vital highway and intersection improvements."

The Federal Highway Administration clarified in a February 21st letter which of the earmarks were affected by the revision included in the appropriations bill passed by Congress last fall. For two of the three Gravina earmarks, and four of the Knik earmarks, FHWA stated the funds should be used for any surface transportation program (STP) project. The remaining Gravina earmark, which authorized $48 million for earthwork and associated roads, was not affected by the appropriation bill language that changed the others.

DOT said they have treated the "de-earmarked" bridge funds for the bridge project in Ketchikan and the bridge project in Anchorage in conformance with its regulations. Of the total $452 million originally earmarked for the bridges, 48 percent went into the National Highway System program (NHS), 39 percent into the Community Transportation Program (CTP), eight percent into the Alaska Highway System program (AHS), two percent into amenities, such as bike paths, sidewalks, and waysides under the TRAAK program, and the remaining three percent into a flexible funding category.

Governor Frank Murkowski's proposed capital budget requests the maximum available for the bridges under the largest of these categories, the National Highway System program (NHS) program. This would provide $91 million for the Gravina bridge poject in Ketchikan and $93.6 million for the Knik bridge project in Anchorage. A revised amount for Gravina, taking into account the FHWA decision on the third earmark, would be $112.2 million, although the capital budget request does not reflect this. The greatest portion of the remaining funding will give a substantial boost to the Community Transportation Program (CTP), including the municipal planning organizations in Anchorage and Fairbanks (AMATS and FMATS).

Barton noted that under the federal highway authorization bill passed last summer, Alaska is authorized to receive more federal funding than ever before, approximately $2.5 billion over five years, thanks to the hard work of Alaska's congressional delegation.

"We are seeing a significant loss in buying power for projects in the STIP, for a number of reasons beyond the bridge earmarks," Barton said. "These include the dramatically rising cost of construction - due to higher prices for concrete, steel, fuel, asphalt, and labor. We are also seeing an erosion of funds available from the federal Highway Trust Fund."

"Governor Murkowski recognizes the need to supplement our federal funding in the STIP with a higher level of state commitment," Barton said. "That is why he has requested more than $156 million in state funds in his FY2007 capital budget request, as well as an additional $175 million in his supplemental budget request for this year. Coupled with state funds already approved in the FY2006 capital budget, this represents a two year total of nearly $526 million in state funds above the amount needed to match federal funds."

Related Information:

Change Summary Between the Draft and Final 2006-2008 STIP

Gravina Access Project - Vicinity Map

Source of News:

Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
www.dot.state.ak.us

 

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