For Immediate Release
September 21, 2007 |
Contact: Steve Ellis
202-546-8500 x126 |
ALASKA GOVERNOR PULLS PLUG ON BRIDGE TO NOWHERE
Click Here to read TCS's writeup on Gravina Island Bridge
Washington, D.C. - Below is a written statement from Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a national non-partisan budget watchdog organization that first dubbed the Gravina Island Access Project the "Bridge to Nowhere":
Today, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) pulled the plug on the Bridge to Nowhere -
the Gravina Island Access Project - by re-focusing Alaska's transportation
investments on cost-effective solutions to real transportation problems.
Instead of pursuing gold plated bridges to nowhere, lawmakers should be
focused on fixing our nation's degrading infrastructure and enhancing
America's transportation choices. A recent Department of Transportation
Inspector General report found that more than 13%, or $8 billion, of
transportation funding was earmarked. The Bridge to Nowhere was the poster
child of Congressional excess, and hopefully its demise will be the harbinger of
greater restraint and transparency in federal budgeting.
Associated Press article on the announcement
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ The state of Alaska on Friday officially abandoned
the "bridge to nowhere" project that became a nationwide symbol of federal pork-barrel spending.
The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in
southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island.
"Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398
million bridge is not the answer," Gov. Sarah Palin said in a statement.
She directed the state transportation department to find the most
"fiscally responsible" alternative for access to the airport.
Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young championed the project through
Congress two years ago, securing more than $200 million for the bridge between Ketchikan, on Revillagigedo Island, and Gravina Island.
Under mounting political pressure over pork projects, Congress stripped
the earmark _ or stipulation _ that the money be used for the airport, but still sent the money to the state for any use it deemed appropriate.
The state took much of that for other projects, and Palin on Friday said
the Ketchikan project was $329 million short of full funding.
"It's clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money
on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island," Palin said.
"Much of the public's attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on
inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened," she said.
Palin, a Republican, won the Alaska governorship last fall after
defeating Gov. Frank Murkowski in the GOP primary. Stevens and Young are also Republicans. |
