I am a resident of this Great State, and put high faith and trust in our governmental organizations. They deliver great services at an unbeatable price, and we take pride in that fact. Today, I had the unfortunate pleasure of experiencing (once again) a poorly managed service of the state that does not need to be and should not be, and requires no additional money to fix. I live in Juneau, on Douglas Island and this morning, my 8 minute commute to work turned into a 30+ minute commute. As you’re aware, there’s been construction on Egan DR that is prompting closure of a lane of traffic on the Douglas Island bridge, for drivers heading north on Egan. While I understand the need and importance of keeping our infrastructure in good-working order, and the importance of employing people, it is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable to close a critical piece of infrastructure during commute times without providing notification, and without any alternatives. This is the only road off the island, and the public simply cannot show up to work 30 minutes late–this jeopardizes the safety and security of our homes, family, and lives, and is completely avoidable on your end. There was no notification.
Construction can start at 8:30 or can break between commute times, and they can pause to allow for the heavy volume of traffic by residents trying to provide for their families.
To make matters worse, I personally experienced this exact same scenario roughly two weeks ago, and also wrote to your department on social media.
Much to my surprise, a representative of the department responded to notify me that corrective action had been taken, and again, much to my surprise, I noticed signage, and the construction started later in the day. Crisis avoided, and I felt like I did something good for the community, by bringing an issue to light that effects everyone, and was particularly happy to share this story with friends and family.
This morning’s incident felt personally insulting, and there needs to be a final resolution. Who ever is in charge of managing is clearly failing the public, and mocking the Department of Transportation’s mission to “Keep Alaska Moving.” Additionally, this reinforces a negative stereotype the general public maintains regarding the incompetence of state officials and organizations. This is damaging to institution of government, and is unnecessary. I am writing the Commissioner’s office, the Governor’s office, and sending this to the Juneau Empire and Alaska Dispatch News. Please follow up with me regarding this message.
Randy Brown,
Douglas