Boldly Going Where No One Wants To Go

Steve Vick is off and swimming…in the frigid waters of an Alaskan fjord…among sharks, whales and sea lions. What? Is the guy nuts?

Steve's swim of 92 miles is to protest a planned road from Juneau to Skagway, Alaska.

Most of the citizens in Juneau, Haines and Skagway, Alaska, have opposed the project with petitions, referendums and council votes, according to media accounts. Residents say the road will choke Juneau with tourists' recreational vehicles and intrude on a pristine old-growth forest and habitat for sea lions, bears and bald eagles. They are satisfied with the current ferry service.

Lynn Canal Conservation describes the ferry service from Juneau to Skagway as a spectacularly scenic and relaxing trip through the Lynn Canal, “a fjord that is as beautiful and pristine as any in the world.” The walls along the fjord rise from sea level to as high as 7,000 feet. The group says, “To even consider connecting Skagway to Juneau by a 65 mile road that would blast apart steep mountainous terrain to create a horizontal roadbed is nothing short of madness.”

The Juneau Road would dismantle a functioning public transportation system and permanently destroy hundreds of acres of vegetation, over half of which is old growth forest. The road would impact two steller sea lion haulouts, bisect 60 miles of brown and black bear habitat (compromising the ability of bears to move freely between coastal and alpine habitats), and negatively impact a rich and abundant marine ecosystem. And it would quadruple the number of RVs in Judneau within a year of its opening.

The route itself would cross 58 avalanche paths, making it probably the most dangerous road in North America. The road, its critics say, would cause major environmental damage to Berners Bay and the eastern shore of Lynn Canal, and would threaten a stellar sea lion haulout at Gran Point. One state official said it will require an ongoing arsenal of bomb shells being detonated for seven months of the year to prevent snow slides.

Emily Ferry, a conservationist for the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, told the Christian Science Monitor the expense of road construction is being deliberately underestimated to win support, and many believe the actual cost will reach $1 billion because of the challenging terrain.

"Residents of the Lynn Canal are being strong-armed," Vick said in a press release. "We have consistently said we don't need or want this road and yet the state continues to push a road and undermine ferry service."

Recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency gave thumbs down to the Juneau Road blueprint, joining the majority of citizens in the towns of Skagway and Haines - communities poised to reap the “biggest benefits.”An EPA study says retaining the marine highway (ferry) rather than road-building would "most effectively avoid and minimize potential adverse environmental impacts."

"We don't want the road because we don't need it," says Jan Wrentmore, proprietor of the famous Red Onion Saloon in Skagway, which thrives on the commerce from thousands of cruise ship passengers. "We [locals] can get around fine using a high speed ferry."

Mayor Tim Bourcy of Skagway says, "I'm not sure what the drive is for having this road, but it is not coming from the people.”

The Anchorage Daily News says the reason is simple, "Governor Frank Murkowski's enthusiasm to build roads knows few bounds. He wants to build roads the way beavers want to build dams."

Odd ideas for roads and bridges seem common for Alaska reports the Christian Science Monitor. A proposed two-mile-long Knik Arm Bridge would connect Anchorage to the outpost of Pork Mackenzie - current population one but eyed as a gateway to future suburbs. Another proposed bridge, as long as the Golden Gate and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge, would connect Ketchikan with Gravina Island, home to 50 people, where the airport is located. A trip to the airport now requires a 10-minute ferry ride.

By the way it isn’t just the governor who likes to build roads. Don’t forget Cong. Dong Young of Alaska isn’t the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for nothing. He likes bringing home the pork. - even if no one wants to eat it. Alaska, population 630,000 gets $6 in subsidies for every $1 it pays to the federal treasury - making it the most heavily subsidized state in the country.

Environmentalists and hard-line fiscal conservatives alike are uniting against Congressmen Young in what they see as runaway pork-barrel spending.

Pat Williams of Montana, a former nine-term Congressman who is a senior fellow at the Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula, Mont., goes as far as to call the money designated for Alaska "shameful."

"Where is the scrutiny?" Williams asks. "There isn't any because with his seniority, Don Young is untouchable.... "

Anyway, swimmer Vick says "Actually here in Haines we had a hard enough time just plowing our roads. The idea of having to spend millions of more dollars building a new one when it's hard enough maintaining our old ones is ridiculous in some ways." Sources: Lynn Canal Conservation Juneau Empire, The Lynn Swim, CBC, Chilkat Valley News (Haines, Alaska), Christian Science Monitor, Cleveland Plain Dealer