After six tries, state musters enough money for projects
The State of Alaska has finally secured almost $109 million in federal funding to replace two aging bridges on the Alaska Highway.
The money to demolish the old bridges and build new ones comes from the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program. Those will replace the 80-year-old bridges spanning the Johnson and Gerstle rivers, south of Delta Junction.
State Senator Mike Cronk is a Republican from Northway, a town located farther south on the Alcan. He also serves as the Senate minority leader.
“We’re excited,” he said. “Obviously, those were World War II bridges. They definitely have done their job. They definitely built them right. But, you know, it's time to replace all these bridges.”
Cronk says the new bridges will benefit residents of communities along the Alaska Highway and the rest of the state.
“It's a big boost to our economy, obviously,” he said. “Those are not cheap bridges. So, there's going to be some jobs there. But mainly for safety. I mean, we all want to make sure our roads and everything's safe.”
Cronk says that money will be added to the $94.4 million that the state got from the 2021 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act and other federal funding sources. He says the state will provide a $19 million match, along with $2 million it’s already spent on preliminary engineering and planning.
The estimated cost of the two bridge projects is $220 million.
Alaska DOT spokesperson Angelica Stabs said it took a few years and several grant applications to generate enough money to replace the bridges.
“So these bridge replacements have long been a part of our plan,” she said. “With federal support through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, targeted grant programs and close collaboration with the State Historic Preservation Office we’re now moving forward with these very critical projects.”
Stabs said the department submitted the Johnson River Bridge project to the federal Bridge Investment Program for the past two years. She said the Johnson River Bridge also was submitted as a combined project, along with the Gerstle bridge, four times from 2022 through 2025.
State DOT officials say they hope to begin work on the Johnson River bridge next year and complete the project in 2030. Construction of the Gerstle River bridge is scheduled to get under way in three years and be completed in 2032.
