As a lifelong Alaskan born in Anchorage, I grew up hearing about how the capital move — moving the capital from Juneau to elsewhere — was a political issue.
When I wrote about it last month, I meant to convey that it was then and is now a bad idea because it’s a crazy wild-card proposal. The FRANK Initiative (Fiscally Responsible Alaskans Needing Knowledge) passed because capital move advocates hadn’t budgeted or even estimated costs. Upon reading Rich Moniak’s piece mentioning my column, it occurred to me that I hadn’t made my point clearly.
The Juneau Access Project is entirely different than the ill-conceived capital move in terms of planning, vetting, funding and implementation. The capital move has never been put to the budgetary or regulatory tests that separate feasible and doable projects from conjectural things that bedazzle disgruntled voters. Juneau Access has gone through three separate environmental studies, and been analyzed and evaluated from local, state and national perspectives. The pros and cons have been debated, and it has been shown to be a viable project.
Alaska’s economy generally and the capital city’s specifically need good news. There are not many new things being built, and the Lynn Canal Highway is strongly supported by the people who do things like build highways, because the project will provide economic stimulus at a critical time. The short- and mid-term hopes of many workers in Juneau hinge on the creation of significant construction jobs in the here and now.
Moniak raised the question of whether continuing with the Juneau Access Project at this time might actually send a message to our Alaskan friends and neighbors up north that we want to move the capital. Obviously, this isn’t the case, and there was more support from both sides of the political aisle this past session than ever before for Juneau Access. There wasn’t even an amendment offered to remove funding in the House of Representatives.
Road money was put back into the budget by legislators from Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Kenai Peninsula. These elected representatives get it. Roads help Alaskans connect, thrive and prosper from Kotzebue to Ketchikan, King Cove to Echo Cove. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them, and we won’t get where we need to go tomorrow without supporting new ones and maintaining the ones we have.
It isn’t possible to consider transportation policy in Southeast Alaska without acknowledging the Alaska Marine Highway System, a vital and irreplaceable part of our lives. While some who wish for Juneau to remain inaccessible by road have criticized the Juneau Access Project for not being adequately supportive of our beloved Alaska ferries, in truth the Lynn Canal Highway has a huge amount to offer to making ferry service more effective and sustainable. Ferries are best used where roads can not go.
The Lynn Canal Highway is currently planned to go from Juneau to Katzehin, and is likely eventually to be extended all the way to Skagway. Once this is done, Haines, Juneau and Skagway will still have reliable, regular access to the Marine Highway System. This culmination of the Juneau Access Project will be good for all, even though it will take some time and effort to get there.
We must compromise and accept things that we may not all have initially embraced if Juneau is to adapt and succeed.
I was not at all in favor of the placement of the whale statue in its location near the Douglas Bridge, nor of the expenditure of over $10 million on the creation of the artificial island that links the statue part of the way to the docks where cruise ships bring visitors to Juneau. But this project has been built, and it isn’t going anywhere. I see it being used more and more, and am reconciled to its existence.
I trust that as the Juneau Access Project continues, those who have opposed or questioned it in the past will similarly find themselves adapting to it, accepting its utility, and even using and enjoying it.
The path forward won’t be easy for Juneau, but Juneau Access offers essential economic activity at a time when we need it most. Hopefully the wider community will look at the big picture and accept this reality.
• Benjamin Brown, a lifelong Alaskan, is an attorney who lives in Juneau. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.
