State transportation officials don't dispute the failure to follow the law on Kinross bridge plans
Though the answers came in the form of noncommittal bureaucratese, state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities officials did not dispute they failed to follow federal law in selecting some projects for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and will have to backtrack in the months ahead.
They said this is part of the process, it’s normal, mistakes happen, conversations are taking place, etc.
“These all are our partners,” said DOTPF Commissioner Ryan Anderson, when asked about the critical comments from the Fairbanks and Anchorage planning groups at a legislative hearing Tuesday.
“Coordinating on things with the STIP and whatnot as always can be a challenge. But we’re here to do it right. And I think what you’re seeing right now is open transparency. And hey, we’re gonna do this thing and if there are concerns, we’re gonna get them addressed.”
Katherine Keith, deputy commissioner of DOTPF, said there are “a couple projects” in the state plan that are not in the local plans approved by the municipal planning agencies in Fairbanks and Anchorage.
Either the projects have to be dropped from the state plan or the local plans have to be amended.
There are actually six projects in question, not two.
There are two bridges the Dunleavy administration wants to replace to benefit the Kinross plan to haul ore with 95-foot trucks from Tetlin to Fort Knox. These bridges are in the Fairbanks planning area.
Keith said this is a “mismatch of timing and sequencing that we’re working to correct if that’s what the MPOs (municipal planning organizations) are supporting. So we’re having those conversations and they are ongoing.”
In other words, the state will backtrack and ask the local organizations to approve the projects, amending their road plans.
She said it will take a “number of months.” Six months is likely, if the Fairbanks and Anchorage groups agree.
DOTPF Commissioner Anderson decided to insert the two Fairbanks bridge projects into the state plan last December, but did not consult with the Fairbanks Area Surface Transportation planning agency or ask to have the projects added to the local plan.
Anderson owes his job to Dunleavy, who has called for Alaskans to support the Kinross project without asking questions.
Meanwhile, the state is already moving ahead on the two bridge plans with a $338,695 contract to the Hamilton Construction Company for “preconstruction services.”
The Dunleavy administration wants to replace the Steese bridge in 2024-2025, and the Chena Lakes Flood Control bridge in 2025-2026, a schedule that is unrealistic for projects that have not been designed or approved.
The costs are also unrealistic. The Steese project is pegged at $12.8 million, with $11.6 million of that from the federal government. The Richardson project is pegged at $30.9 million, with about $29 million from the federal government.
The state has yet to update its website to reveal that a contract has been awarded to start these projects.
Another project for the Steese is the proposed $108 million interchange at the intersection of the Johansen Expressway and the Steese Highway. That cost estimate is unrealistic.
The state has not explained what issues will arise and how the Kinross truck traffic will navigate the proposed temporary bypass road that would connect the Farmers Loop Extension to Northside Boulevard.
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