Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state transportation department continue to act as partners in the Kinross plan to have 95-foot-long trucks coming or going every 7.5 minutes between Tetlin and Fort Knox, perhaps for decades to come.

The transportation department denies its partnership, of course, but until Dunleavy, transportation commissioner Ryan Anderson and his staff end their studied passivity, the state is abrogating its duty to Alaskans.

In fact, the state is a partner in the project through the $10 million invested by the Alaska Permanent Fund in Contango ORE. The transportation department should correct its deceptive answer on its FAQ list to clarify that the state is partnering with Kinross, but not through DOTPF.

There are other questions and answers on the state frequently asked questions list that require revision, starting with the most basic issues.

If the state can’t answer that question about the Kinross plan, it’s only because the Dunleavy administration chooses to behave that way, shielding Kinross from scrutiny. I’ve been told that the company has recently cut back its estimate of the number of trips per day. Why? A shortage of drivers? To reduce public opposition? Is the state going to seek a legal limit on the number of trips per day?

The Dunleavy administration has failed to pursue obvious questions about public safety, maintenance costs, air quality, the impact on other drivers and road conditions during bad weather.

It was only in response to public opposition that arose during Dunleavy’s reelection campaign that the state agreed to do a analysis of the transportation route. Kinross has already approved its trucking plan, but the highway analysis is just getting started.

Really? The state is unaware of the trucking route? It is from Tetlin to Fort Knox. This intentional ignorance is a CYA move. The state is in no position to make recommendations because it doesn’t know what Kinross is planning. Don’t ask. Don’t tell.

Part of the oversight work the Dunleavy administration should be doing is being undertaken by a citizens’ group, Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways, which continues to raise questions that the governor and his underlings want to suppress.

The Tetlin mine would operate for 4.5 years, but promoters have made it clear they want to look for other reserves to keep the trucks going for the long term.

The question and answer about truck traffic in Fairbanks requires clarification and amplification. The bridges on the Steese route can’t handle the truck loads envisioned by Kinross. The state traffic regulations, which the DOT public relations staff should translate into English for the public, allow 95-foot vehicles on the Steese from the Mitchell to the Elliott Highway, but not on the Mitchell/Peger/Johansen/Steese route. Will the limit on extra-long trucks double the Fort Knox-bound truck traffic from Fairbanks to Fort Knox? Where are these drivers to come from?’

There are also several frequently asked questions that the department responds to by saying, in effect, “Ask somebody else” or “Somebody else will see to that.” The refusal to deal with specifics fits with the Dunleavy stonewall strategy.

Dunleavy, Alaska transportation department continue to act as partners with Kinross