In the them by the taxpayers. "Maybe if we had done it right, maybe some of that money would have gone to inspect those bridges and other bridges around the country," McCain told a group of people in a town-hall style meeting in Ankeny, Iowa. A trail proceeds from their to the mining area at Taylor, Alaska. There are so many great ways to enjoy this hike. And he contacted me and he said he wanted to do a story on it. state-by-state allocation formula. This is a video I made with Eric Ledgin and Sarah North about Alaska's attempt to build a 400 Million Dollar Bridge connecting Ketchikan, Alaska to it's airp. The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, with Gravina Island, an island that contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. Even at $223 million, the earmarks for the bridge that was supposed to connect Ketchikan to Gravina Island, Alaska, population roughly 50, has had remarkably durable legs as a campaign issue. This covered bridge could have elevators and escalators; if medical personnel need to reach the ferry, they can use it. heels, and many of the delegation's colleagues, including all of Construction of bridges was started at 1939 but at 1950 was by communist regime the construction of highway stopped. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. PS- It's PAY-lin [revised 2008-08-31] Gov Palin did NOT reject the pork from Sen. Stevens. [50][52], Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman Roger Wetherell disagreed, stating that Palin could have canceled the contract upon taking office and reimbursed contractors for any expenses incurred in association with the project, as happened when Palin cancelled a $18.6 million contract on a Juneau road and reimbursed the contractor for $65,500 in expenses. But she didn't attempt to void the already signed construction contracts for the approach road. battlefield park jackson, ms . In 2006, with the bridge in dispute and increasingly unlikely to ever be built, then-Gov. "The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge.". DOT officials at the time said that if they didn't then continue with the bridge, they might be required to pay back to the federal government the $28 million it spent on the road. [34], The city of Ketchikan has already begun to develop roads and a small amount of infrastructure for Gravina Island's 50 inhabitants. Ketchikan looks like a densely populated little strip. find themselves tarred by the same brush dipped in the muck of the Every flight into Gravina Island requires a 15-minute ferry ride to reach the more densely populated Revillagigedo Island. for the hurricane relief efforts. A proposed Alaska bridge that became a symbol of wasteful federal spending on politicians' pet projects has officially been scrapped a decade after the idea was first floated, state officials said on Friday. U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, both Republicans, championed the project through Congress two years ago, securing more than $200 million for the bridge between Revillagigedo and Gravina islands. their august institution of democracy still maintains the moral 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "There's some private land out there and some borough land, so it's being used for access to private lots and access to borough land, and it's also being used for some hunting, people going out sightseeing, berry picking, things like that. people of Alaska and to responsible members of Congress who now Further driving up costs were all the muskeg and peat that had to be removed and replaced with rock and gravel to get through the wetlands. PALIN: I'm not going to stand in the way of progress, that our congressional delegation, in the position of strength that they have right now, they're making those efforts for the state of Alaska to build up our infrastructure. A number of alternative bridge routes were considered. News, Dave Person wrote, "Thinking about the immense ", she answered: "Yes. Theres plenty of wildlife nearby, so pack bear spray, and stay vigilant along the trail. The controversy began with the 2006 National Appropriations Bill, an omnibus spending bill covering transportation, housing, and urban development for the following year. [50][51], CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau took a helicopter over the road. selfish shortsightedness in sending these scoundrels to Washington 8,000) by a bridge nearly as long as the Golden Gate and higher . threat. The National Park Service is all about funding for construction projects, so the Gilahina Trestle will probably be the recipient of some cash. In stump speeches, Alaska Gov. Many of the earmarks, he claimed, are Orleans, to Alaska Native people and to the Nation for their It's a 10-mile round-trip hike on the East Fork Trail along the San Gabriel River. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. The legend on the shirt was "Nowhere Alaska 99901", referencing the buzzword of "Bridge to Nowhere" and the primary ZIP code of Ketchikan. [10] The bridge would cross the Tongass Narrows, part of Alaska's Inside Passage, so the bridge was designed to be tall enough to accommodate ship traffic, including the Alaska Marine Highway and the cruise ships that frequent Alaskan waters during the summer. The decision to build the road before the bridge was blasted in 2010 by the Legislature's audit division, which said it was "not in the public's best interest given the lack of congressional financial support for the bridges and the significant increase in estimated cost.". Yeah, this was taken last week. "Gov. "It'd be nice to see them put something over here now they have a road: park, picnic benches, something to get people out here," said P.J. Fourteen years on, Palin's 'bridge to nowhere' comment still resounds. Crazy times. Palin interrupted Gibson and insisted, "I was wearing a T-shirt with the zip code of the community that was asking for that bridge. Tell me about that. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened. ", In the Ketchikan [19] Because "no one seems to use" this road, it has been called the "road to nowhere" by CNN, many local Alaskans, and several other media sources. Yeah the downtown area is a pretty dense, but there are a couple roads leading out of town to some less populated and much more scenic areas. [26] On January 17, 2007, she sent a revised budget to the president of the Alaska Senate that would restrict capital spending and rescinded the $185 million state share of the bridge funding.[27]. Please contact us through messages. Ronald Utt is the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Senior Research Fellow. [13], On October 21, 2005, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) offered an amendment to remove funds for the Gravina Island and Knik Arm bridges, and divert the funds to rebuild a bridge over Lake Pontchartrain that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. We Don't Need Another "Bridge to Nowhere". The town seven blocks wide and eight miles long has little room to grow. As anyone running for statewide office in Alaska, to oppose a project like this would have been a political suicide. Typically the flow is only a foot or two deeprefreshing on a warm daybut it can swell to impassable after big storms. [18], In September 2006, during her campaign for Governor, Sarah Palin visited Ketchikan to express her support for the Gravina Island Bridge project. "The Bridge to Nowhere" has been a much-used phrase by the McCain Campaign. I told the Congress, thanks, but no thanks on that Bridge to Nowhere. Required fields are marked *. The final stretch leads to the high-walled canyon known as the Narrows, where water squeezes through a deep and narrow gorge, spanned by the Bridge to Nowhere. be used for infrastructure reconstruction in the hurricane-affected In opposing Following the construction of the island highway, the $28 million expenditure wound up being used by both bridge supporters to make the case for construction and bridge critics who called it a boondoggle. It has also become an embarrassment to the The next year, they changed the language. Every day, another news organization affirms that Sarah Palin was for it before she was against it. Megan McDonald is a writer, photographer, and owner of HuMu Media, an Alaska-based media company. In November 2006, Sarah Palin is elected and from what we can tell, she was supporting it. The Bridge to Nowhere: A National Embarrassment, From Concerning to Terrifying: 7 Horrible Milestones on Horizon for Bloated Federal Budget, Earmark Spending: Bad Fruit from Rotten Trees, Debunking Bidens Malarkey: 7 Ways He Added $6 Trillion to Deficits. Was it beautiful? Have the bridge to nowhere in Alaska, a $233 million bridge to an island with 50 people on it, or a $1,000 tax credit for every child in America?" The bridge was projected to cost $398 million. [19], In October 2006, when asked, "Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges? Bridge to Nowhere: Directed by Ian Mune. Rumors say that it took less than 8 days to build, and the first train ran across its length on January 28, 1911. Guest Blogging: Bridges to Nowhere and Beyond Arguably his most controversial move came in 2005, when he pushed to get more than $200m (107m) of federal earmarked to build Alaska's "bridge to nowhere", a project that was ultimately dropped . Perhaps thats reason enough for some funding, restore the west end of the bridge, and the Gilahina Trestle can be known as Alaskas Bridge to Somwhere namely, the other side of the Gilahina River. They have a bunch of snow out at McCarthy already, like a foot and a half or so I think. iReport.com: Are you in a battleground state? Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. The Gravina Island Highway was to become part of what's officially known as the Gravina Access Project to better connect the city with Ketchikan International Airport. And she actively was an advocate for it. "I mean, it's pretty here." (Creative Commons photo by Bob Weinstein) Ketchikan . On Friday, Alaska decided the bridge really was going nowhere, officially abandoning the project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., He wrote this excellent piece which I think basically was its introduction to the national audience. Boudreau also spoke to the McCainPalin campaign spokesperson Meghan Stapleton, who defended the road: "The governor could not change that earmark. Required fields are marked *. To say thanks but no thanks would imply that they didn't take the money, and they got every dime of it. And one night, had a couple beers in me, and I got a little more creative and I came up with the term Bridge to Nowhere. Market data provided by Factset. Well this helps put a face to the name. Times Staff Writer. Perhaps You were wearing a T-shirt in the 2006 campaign, showed your support for the bridge to nowhere." in the state's newspapers, and the papers' editors have also Murkowski, the local community and some legislators. And in fact, John McCain had picked up on the Bridge to Nowhere more than a year before that. June 30, 2022. was simply impractical. The bridge has a height of 50ft and a width of 100 feet. JUNEAU -- The name "Bridge to Nowhere" still rankles in Ketchikan 10 years after congressional opponents of earmarks used it to attack federal money for the bridge to nearby Gravina Island and the city's airport. In the years 1965-1975 was carried construction of a water reservoir Svihov and both bridges were flooded almost to the level . Foundation. [32][33], Asked why she initially supported the bridge, Palin's communications director Bill McAllister said, "It was never at the top of her priority list, and in fact the project isn't necessarily dead there's still the potential for improved ferry service or even a bridge of a less costly design". . What some people might not realize is that Bridge to Nowhere was actually part of a major infrastructure project. The project also had a history of federal appropriations showing support there as well, it said. Yeah that section is actually pretty badly collapsing on the right its all tilted and askew. This is looking from Ketchikan across the Tongass Narrows to Gravina Island, the destination of the bridge. $148 million returning to Alaska as money the state could use at It seems like a small gap for such an expensive bridge, but this is the same channel the cruise ships use toenter town, so I imagine it would have had to be a very tall bridge. ANCHORAGE The bridge to nowhere is still trying to get somewhere. Bridge Cordova Alaska | Miles Glacier Bridge (Million Dollar Bridge), Cordova, Alaska. There were a few different options created for the bridge and Im not sure what the final decision was as I moved from the area a few years ago, but I know several of the plans had the bridge quite a ways south of town, which would mean having to build a new road over on Gravina through an area that is not currently developed. "There's no one on this road," she said. The critics called the road spending wasteful for the same reason. Alaska officials have put the final kibosh on the infamous "bridge to nowhere" -- a $400 million project tucked into the federal transportation plan 10 years ago that became the symbol of . Make sure a trip to Denali is in your near future! Look at the highway bill that had 3,000 pork barrel projects on it including bridges to nowhere in Alaska. The trail is graded and well-marked and youll climb no more than 374 feet of elevation throughout the hike. The earmark for the infamous Alaska bridge, referred to as the "bridge to nowhere" allocated $223 million dollars to build a bridge from Ketchikan, Alaska, to a tiny island. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options await you. Never mind that highway bill. The little bit of development you do see on Gravina Island is the Ketchikan Airport, currently serviced by a ferry. SIEGEL: Ultimately though, if the earmark was changed, it no longer was dedicating this $223 million to the bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina Island. Meadow on one side, meadow on the other. You supported that bridge before you opposed it. DOT's Woodrow said that because the official "purpose and need" statement of the Gravina Access Project was not just to improve access to the airport but also to open developable land on Gravina Island, it is unlikely federal transportation officials will demand repayment. [2] As a result, Congress removed the federal earmark for the bridge in 2005. When asked if he felt the road was "a waste of taxpayer money", he responded, "Without the bridge, yeah." She changed her mind, he said, when "she saw that Alaska was being perceived as taking from the country and not giving". You'll receive your first newsletter soon! I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. Boudreau spoke to Mike Elerding, Palin's former campaign coordinator. [3][16][17] The Coburn Amendment was defeated with a heavy bipartisan majority, with 15 senators in favor of the amendment and 82 senators in opposition. [48] According to the Los Angeles Times, for instance, while seeking votes for her governorship race, Palin told Ketchikan residents that she backed the "bridge to nowhere"; as governor, she spent the money elsewhere and moved ahead with a $26-million road to the nonexistent bridge. Clifford Winston Sunday, April 13, 2014. complain about its wait (15 to 30 minutes) and fee ($6 per car). She killed the bridge and saved taxpayers money. Defunding the bridge, he said, (population 50) at a cost to federal taxpayers of $320 million, by And in the last few years, the Alaska Republican has been a poster boy for congressional spending critics. way of three separate earmarks in the recent highway bill. Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and its clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. Unfinished highway bridges, Czech republic. the bridge to nowhere is a unique and historical landmark in the development of new zealand. Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein calls the road, which was paid for by federal tax dollars, a waste of money that could have been used to fix his city's roads and sidewalks. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. The train bridge may be the most famous and scenic bridge in Alaska, subject of many iconic photographs. Sarah is speaking in Anchorage on Saturday, but I would rather be in Denali thats where Im heading! She has dropped the line from her stump speech in the past week, but a McCain-Palin aide said that her prepared remarks are being tweaked as needed to reflect current events, and it could come back again. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Frank Murkowski ordered work on the bridge project to begin with the construction of the highway south from the airport to the channel between Gravina Island and Revillagigedo Island, on which Ketchikan resides. Youll come along the river about halfway through your hike, and its a good place to take a quick rest if you need one. Earmarking foes and fiscal . To get to the trailhead: From the 210 freeway in Azusa, take exit 40 north on Route 39. its remote location makes it a rare tourist sigh - bridge to nowhere stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images RMAJN58E - Florida Keys Old Overseas Highway Bridge Bridge to Nowhere old 7-mile bridge with missing section RM 2G88E11 - Dunbar, United Kingdom. Have you ever hiked the bridge to nowhere in Alaska? The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, with Gravina Island, an island that contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. H.R. In American politics, Alaska is famous for wasted money on a "bridge to nowhere" in the early 2000s. She said there wasn't enough money to . Mr. ASHDOWN: The senator is a friend of taxpayers, but that's an incorrect statement. But some of that money was still spent building a road to nowhere. Keep up the great work! Transportation officials at the time replied that the road was built with the support of Gov. Organise, control, distribute, and measure all of your digital content. Alaska officially abandoned Friday a controversial $400 million public works project mockingly called the 'bridge to nowhere' that became a symbol of pork barrel spending. 3058 (109th): Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, -- GovTrack.us", "Stevens Vehemently Opposes Coburn Amendment to Eliminate Alaska Bridges", "Stevens says he'll quit if bridge funds diverted", "For a Senate Foe of Pork Barrel Spending, Two Bridges Too Far", "Palin touts stance on 'Bridge to Nowhere,' doesn't note flip-flop", "Palin criticized during gubernatorial campaign for her support of Gravina Island Bridge", "Palin voiced initial support for the proposed Gravina Island bridge during campaign", "Palin defends the bridge project, asks people to band together", "Palin Criticized during gubernatorial campaign for her support of Gravina Island Bridge", "Palin "bridge to nowhere" line angers many Alaskans", "DOT 'leaning' toward ferries; cites bridge cost", "Palin was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it", "Congress earmark alteration for Alaska prompts Governor Palin's new state budget without bridge", "Lawmakers deal with voter anger over 'pork', "Ted Earmarked Funds for Bridge that Goes Nowhere", "Palin changed her mind for public expediency", "Alaska abandons controversial Ketchikan bridge project", "Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims", "Fact Check: Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere", "Account of a Bridge's Death Slightly Exaggerated", "As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone", "McCain Blasts Palin's "Bridge to Nowhere", "McCain Blamed Bridge collapse on Bridge to Nowhere", "McCain connected 35W bridge collapse to Palin's pork", "Excerpts: Charlie Gibson Interviews GOP Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin", "Press picks over litter of lies on the Palin trail US Election", "Sarah Palin said yes, thanks, to a road to nowhere in Alaska", "Bailout Negotiations Continue; FBI Targets Wall Street Firms", "Palin Defends Construction of 'Road to Nowhere', H.R.662 - Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011, "Gravina Access Project, Environmental Impact Statement, Figure 2.10, Alternative F1, Bridges (200' East and 120' West), Between Tongass Avenue and Airport, via Pennock Island: Alignment". In the meantime, Bridge to Nowhere works for me. The road is not yet paved that was expected to happen following bridge construction. We're talking, of course, about the famed plan to build a nearly $400 million bridge to connect the tiny Alaska city of Ketchikan to Gravina, an island with just a few dozen residents and an airport.
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