State changed its bridge replacement plans to accommodate Kinross mine plan

The Dunleavy administration hadn’t planned to move ahead this soon with the replacement of five major bridges between Tetlin and the Fort Knox mine until the Kinross plan to use the highways as a haul road for mining trucks came along.

The state now plans to replace the Robertson, Gerstle, Johnson and Chena Flood Control and Steese bridges at a total cost that will probably exceed $200 million, most of it federal money.

This press release from Transportation Commissioner Ryan Anderson on February 15 downplayed the mine as a factor in the revised highway plan.

Anchorage Rep. Andy Josephson asked Anderson at a Monday hearing if the Gerstle River, Johnson River and Robertson River bridges are to be replaced because of the proposed Kinross mine at Tetlin.

The short answer is yes.

“Those projects have been on our lists. We have a pretty extensive list of bridges that we either have major work to do or replacement. And those projects were on those lists. We have been looking at activity, economic potential for economic development out in the area and we’re reprioritizing some things, so yeah, we’re moving some things around,” Anderson said.