$686 Million for Alaskan "Bridge to Nowh
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| Thu, 02-12-2009 - 2:13pm |
$686 Million for Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere"
A bridge connecting downtown Anchorage with a sparsely populated corner of Alaska's Mat-Su Borough would cost an estimated $686 million, according to a consultant's estimate prepared for the 49th state's Department of Transportation.
In September of 2007, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has canceled one of the bridges, which would have linked Ketchikan with neighboring Gravina Island.
But the Knik Arm project has continued to move forward.
"It says the Knik crossing project is laced with pricey, hard to anticipate risks that will have to be shared by the eventual, privately financed contractor and the 'owner' -- the state and the bridge authority -- if the crossing is to be feasible," the Anchorage Daily News reported on Wednesday.
The state's estimate pegs at $373 million the cost of building a two-lane bridge extending from near the Port of Anchorage to virtually unpopulated Point MacKenzie.
An additional $214 million would be required for roads on the Anchorage side, along with $99 million for roads on the Mat-Su side of the bridge.
The estimate did not furnish a worst-case/best-case cost range. However, the report did conclude that "(t)he design and construction risks for this project are extraordinarily high."
"At a time of declining oil revenues and federal funding for transportation, the state should not undertake a project of this scale with its 'extraordinarily high' financial risks," said Lois Epstein, director of the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, a watchdog group.
Mark Claman, Anchorage's Acting Mayor, told the Daily News, "I've always said the economic case for the bridge hasn't been made."
Full article at: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/161823.asp






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Yes, she did say,"No thank you."
If you ever have anything to offer that "parallels" this situation re: Alaska in re: to clawback, that would be super.
Most people are comfortable with google. Look for the term "claw-back" in the following text or on the link.
Here - http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1465996§ionID=4066
Mo. may get $500 million-plus in federal highway money
Missouri transportation officials continue to wait and see how much money President Obama's economic stimulus package may contain for the Show-me State's roads.
The exact amount of money Missouri may get from the economic stimulus package remains unknown.
But MoDOT Director Pete Rahn told reporters Wednesday that if the House of Representatives' version holds true, the state's transportation department would get more than half a billion dollars.
"It'll be spread out over a two-year period...the money will have to be spent within three years, or there's a claw-back provision in which the federal government would take monies not spent," Rahn said.
MoDOT has 34 construction projects ready to go if the federal money comes through.
Rahn says they would create about 14,000 jobs and carry an economic impact of more than $2 billion.
But State Representative Gary Dusenberg (R, Blue Springs) warns against depending on promises from Washington.
"Because we don't know for sure how much money we're going to get...there's no guarantee, and I don't think the people would want us to depend upon it, that's 'pie in the sky' right now...until we see the money coming to the state, we'll take that up at that time," Dusenberg said.
>"the money will have to be spent within three years, or there's a claw-back provision in which the federal government would take monies not spent"<
This is written into the agreement when/if Missouri receives the stimulus package.
Do you know if this provision was written into the agreement along with monies received by Alaska?
I'm very comfortable with google.
Oops, you beat me to it :)
If there is no such provision, then it sure doesn't parallel the situation in the OP.
Excerpted from:
Thanks :)
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