A representative of the Federal Highway Administration confirmed Friday that the State of Alaska will not have to repay federal money spent on planning for the Juneau Access project.
“No, the state does not need to reimburse the federal government,” said spokesman Doug Hecox by phone from Washington, D.C.
He said it’s not uncommon for a state or agency to cancel a project before a record of decision.
“At the end of the day, we want a project that everybody likes, and you don’t always get that,” Hecox said.
To date, the state has spent $27.8 million of federal money on the Juneau Access project, according to figures provided by Department of Transportation & Public Facilities spokesman Jeremy Woodrow.
Had construction gone forward, the federal government would have shouldered 90 percent of the $574 million cost of the project. The state would have been required to pay about $57 million, but most of that money had already been appropriated in previous sessions of the Alaska Legislature.
Since the early 2000s, the state has been working through a process to select the best plan for improving transportation between Juneau and the northern end of Lynn Canal.
After creating a list of options, the state selected a road up the east side of Lynn Canal to a ferry terminal north of the Katzehin River.
In 2006, a lawsuit forced the state to halt work, and in 2009, a judge ordered the state to restart the planning process and include improved ferry service as a possible alternative.
The state again preferred the east-side road, but Walker on Thursday selected the “no-build” option.
Walker’s choice effectively ends the Juneau Access project, though the project’s surveys and records will remain on file for use in future discussions of a road out of Juneau.
There will certainly be such discussions — since 1905, when the Juneau Chamber of Commerce suggested construction of a road to Atlin, British Columbia, the city of Juneau, territory of Alaska and state of Alaska have repeatedly planned and canceled projects that would connect Juneau to the North American road system.
Juneau remains the largest unconnected city on the North American mainland.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at 523-2258 or james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.
