CQ WEEKLY
– VANTAGE POINT
Sept. 6, 2008 – 11:34 p.m.
Palin Less Upset by Alaska's Other 'Bridge to Nowhere'
By Mike Christensen, CQ Staff
There is more than one “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ’s past.
Most everyone by now has heard the story of how Palin canceled a $400 million bridge in the small coastal town of Ketchikan in order to save the federal government money, although the year before, while campaigning for governor, she had been all for the project. Some Republicans have adjusted to the revelations by presenting Palin as a “reformed earmarker.”
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But there is a second bridge, more than twice as expensive and just as controversial, that Palin has expressed concern about but hasn’t tried to kill off. That project, the Knik Arm bridge, is in Anchorage near her hometown of Wasilla, and its construction would both improve commuting and aid the development of the Matanuska-Susitna, or Mat-Su, Valley where Palin lives.
“Growing up out there in the valley, I’ve always shared that vision with others that we would have that physical linkage with the municipality of Anchorage,” Palin told the Anchorage Daily News in June. “And I am such a proponent of muscled-up infrastructure in Alaska in general and, you know, beefing up our infrastructure.”
Worried about the growing cost of the bridge, though, and who would pay for it, Palin has called for a review of the project, and the state transportation department this summer sought an independent estimate of the cost before going further. The department tried, but its request for proposals drew one response, which was later withdrawn. Department officials say they have not decided whether to try again.
The history of the two bridge projects also shows that Palin halted the Ketchikan bridge and is reviewing the Anchorage span because the federal government was no longer likely to foot the entire bill — not because she worried that Washington was spending too much.
By the time Palin was sworn in as governor last year, Republicans had lost control of Congress, and Alaska’s delegation had lost some of its clout. Rep. Don Young , who had engineered the budget earmarks for both bridges in 2005, was no longer chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Sen. Ted Stevens had given up his chairmanship of Appropriations. Since then, Stevens has been indicted on federal charges of failing to report gifts, and Young is under investigation for his ties to an oil services company.
The Knik Arm bridge, Palin said in her June interview, “was a project that so many had counted on receiving fully federal funding of it, with Don Young ’s position formerly as chair of Transportation. You know it was assumed that the feds would be paying for the project. Well, things have changed there on the federal front, haven’t they?”
Alaska is heavily dependent on federal aid and notably reluctant to build such projects for itself. State and local politicians, for instance, have tried since the 1950s to connect Anchorage with the stretch of coast on the far side of the Knik Arm, but they have been unable to finance the project, now estimated to cost well over $1 billion, or to find a consensus route.
The Alaska legislature created a bridge and toll commission for the project in 2003, hoping that the prospect of toll revenue would attract private investment, but uncertainty over financing and opposition from parts of Anchorage where the road would go have slowed it down.
Because Elmendorf Air Force Base faces the narrowest part of the Knik Arm, the highway would have to make a sharp right turn after crossing the bridge and cut through the Government Hill section of Anchorage, where opposition is fierce.
The two bridges gained national attention in 2005 as the “bridges to nowhere,” iconic examples of the sort of parochial earmarks that influential members of Congress add to legislation to help their home states. Ketchikan, for instance, is a town of 14,000 that has wanted a bridge to nearby Gravina Island, inhabited by about 50 people and an airfield.
Palin Less Upset by Alaska's Other 'Bridge to Nowhere'
The night before the 2005 highway bill went to the House floor, Young added in $223 million in earmarks for the Ketchikan bridge and $231.4 million for the Anchorage span, which the legislation directed to be named “ Don Young ’s Way.”
When the earmarks became a political embarrassment, Congress in 2006 formally withdrew them but left the $454.4 million in Alaska’s hands to spend however it saw fit.
Palin had told residents of Ketchikan during her 2006 campaign that their bridge was vital to the town and that she supported the project. But when it became clear that Washington’s enthusiasm had cooled, so did hers.
John McCain cited both bridges in 2005 as examples of wasteful spending. And in her first speech as McCain’s running mate on Aug. 30 — with the senator at her side — Palin announced, “I’ve championed reform to end the abuses of earmarked spending by Congress. And I did tell Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks” for that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.”
Comments
Her making this claim in speeches is a bit of flip-flopping and hypocritical, but mainly it shows the Republican party's disregard for the truth. They will say anything to get elected, and that is the lenses through which we should view any claims or promises they make. The media is definitely giving her a pass on this and many other 'inconvenient facts', but even without their help this will come back to byte McCain: Blogs, Stewart and YouTube are 100% more powerful than 4 years ago. Obama is also a shrewd operator (unlike Kerry), and I am sure he will use this when most effective.
She is such a hypocrite, flip-flopper and fibber. Same old politics as usual! Did she fire the chef at the Governors Mansion like she said in her speech? Not entirely....do your homework...the Chef does still work there part of the year. Did she make a profit on the plane she sold on ebay? No! She sold it at a huge loss to the STate of Alaska. A vote for McCain-Palin is a vote for the SAME old business as usual. Vote Obama!
What hypocrisy. Palin has a reserved seat at the gravy train from Don Young, but she now says she's an opponent of wasteful earmarks. If John McCain had done any background on her, he would have known she likes pork from Washington like every other governor. Anybody who thinks she's some kind of reformer ought to seek help right away.
Having actually lived in Alaska in the past, I have some sympathy for both bridges being built, although I disagree that the federal government should pay for them. Alaska has significant oil revenues and it should be home-grown infrastruture improvement. There is one road in and one road out to the Matanuska-Sustina Valley, where Wasilla, Palmer, and other communities lie, so a Knik Arm bridge would be important in the event of natural or man-made disaster. The commute to Anchorage, about 50 miles away, would be possibly shortened by the bridge, if you live out the long stretch of Knik-Goose Bay (KGB) Road past the Iditarod re-start area. BUT MY QUESTION I would put to all the candidates is: What is your position on signing statements? George W. Bush abused this presidential practice to ignore or circumvent laws that had been proposed, debated, compromised on, and passed by the representative of the people in Congress and the Senate. What is your intention in using this practice to ignore the will of the people?
There needs to be more throughout the news about her records. the men within the news media are so gugu eyed over this lady that they can't think staight. Women who takes birth control pills should be made aware that she is not for birth control. Millions of women take these and it would be unfortunate if birth control pills would be discontinued. Margie
When Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gets to Washington, she isn't going to shake them up, instead she is going to SHAKE THEM DOWN!!!
Interesting that the governor kept all that money! Even more interesting would be an investigation into who owns the land and development rights on the mat-su end of the bridge. Who is going to be enriched if the bridge is built? Would we find former staff from Senator Stevens' and Representative Young's offices? Oh, yeah - and why are American taxpayers giving Alaskans more than $500 each when Alaska has enough money in its general fund to give every Alaskan man woman and child an extra $1200 on top of the annual permanent fund dividend of more than $1500?
Well they played the whole sexist card and demonized the media for picking her apart like they would any other candidate. So now people are, for some damn reason tip toeing around her. I want to know has much as I can possibly know about her. And not what the republicans want me to know. I don't care if she thinks it is intrusive or lies. Point blank, she has thrown herself into the lime light for all to see. She is now a celebrity.
I may be mistaken, but instead of "saving" the US taxpayers over 400 million by dropping her support for the Bridge, didn't she keep the $ for Alaska?
Yes, we kept the original appropriation - and that language was written right into the budget. How did she "save taxpayers money"? By not asking for an additional $400 million to complete the bridge. Bear in mind that Alaska has, by far, the lowest number of highway miles in the country. While the federal government was building the Interstate Highway for you, we got ignored.
Dave A, go here: http://www.knikarmbridge.com/project.html Next time do a little research before you start throwing wild charges around
JimAK: You may be right about the quantity of roads in Alaska, but that distorts the truth. You forgot to mention that per capita Alaska is averae in the quantity of roads. So are you suggesting that citizens should get more in Alaska than elsewhere just because they choose to live there? Poor logic and half truths. You must be a Republican.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/28349 Maybe you should do some research yourself JimAK. Members of the AK delegation own land on the Knik side of proposed bridge. Read before you smear.
Your article is pretty accurate, except that Ketchikan's bridge was to go to an island with an INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, not an air FIELD. There is a huge difference - we get jets here in Ketchikan (where I live) and our airport services 300,000 people a year. The ferries that shuttle people back and forth are inadequate. The airport was built 35 years ago and Ketchikan has changed a great deal. We really really need a bridge!!!!!!!!!
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