Senate Passes Highway Reauthorization Bill

SENATE PASSES HIGHWAY REAUTHORIZATION BILL

Senator Murkowski Touts Alaska Priorities Including Rural Road and Ferry Funding

Senator Lisa Murkowski tonight applauded final Senate passage of the highway reauthorization bill, H.R. 3. Murkowski said that the bill will strengthen the economic and transportation infrastructure of the country. The Senate approved the highway bill tonight by a vote of 91-4. It now heads to the President for his signature.

The bill sets federal funding for transportation projects across the country through Fiscal Year 2009. The bill allocates $425.9 million to Alaska annually, with Alaska receiving approximately $5.26 for each dollar of fuel taxes Alaskans pay into the Highway Trust Fund through FY09. The change in annual funding represents a 30.3% increase for Alaska.

"I'm proud that Congress has produced an important bipartisan bill that has been long in coming," Sen. Murkowski said. "And I'm proud of the role Alaskans have played in bringing it to a conclusion. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time all three members of the Alaska Delegation have ever been on the same conference committee for any bill, let alone a major one like this. And I think Alaska is well represented in the final bill."

"Reliable transportation is critical to our national well-being and to the well-being of our individual citizens," Murkowski said. "This is especially true in Alaska, where our road and transportation systems, are woefully inadequate compared to the rest of the country. For Alaska's economy and citizenry to develop in the future, we need to further connect our communities and ensure that we are prioritizing our transportation needs. I'm pleased that the bill we passed today accomplishes this for our State and for the country."

For rural Alaska, the bill authorizes the Denali Commission to plan, design, construct and maintain roads connecting to and within remote Alaskan communities, with advice from an advisory group dominated by rural and Alaska Native interests. The bill provides a total of $60 million for FY06-09.

Eligible transit programs across the state will see a significant increase in funding. This year's highway bill provides $185.9 million for FY06-09, an over $122 million increase over the last highway bill. Additionally, transit funds for ferry systems in Alaska and Hawaii will increase from $10.4 million annually to $15 million. Senator Murkowski was also successful in securing $1 million for transit programs in Anchorage, $500,000 for Mat-Su, and $250,000 for Sitka and Ketchikan each.

At Murkowski's urging, the bill designates the highway route between Fairbanks and the Canadian border as a new international high-priority corridor. The designation is intended to assist the State in obtaining additional funds to upgrade that area of roadway, if necessary, for anticipated heavy traffic associated with future gas line construction. The Dalton Highway from the North Slope to Fairbanks already has a similar designation.

The highway bill also helps alleviate unfair airplane usage taxes affecting rural Alaskans, seaplanes and flightseeing operations. The bill amends current law to exempt passengers who live within a certain distance of a major airport, but who cannot get there by road, so they will pay only one flight segment fee instead of two, since they have no other alternative but to fly. Many rural Alaskans have been effectively paying the segment tax twice as they travel by air to larger airports from which they can catch a flight to their final destination. The bill also eliminates an excise tax on seaplane passengers on flights operating from private facilities that receive no FAA funds. Combined, these two tax corrections should save affected passengers approximately $3 million annually, according to the Congressional Joint Tax Committee. The bill also lifts taxes paid on flightseeing tours, which instead pay alternative fees. The bill also contains language that clarifies the status of villages participating in the federally established Community Development Quota (CDQ) program created to assist economically disadvantaged communities around the edge of the Bering Sea. The language is required because of technical provisions in the 1996 reauthorization of the CDQ law that require a reassessment of the eligibility of the 65 communities currently covered by the CDQ program - an assessment that might have eliminated some of the communities from qualifying for the regional fishing quota system.

Additionally, the bill includes a new national motorcycle safety program sponsored by Senator Murkowski. The program will provide grants for motorcycle rider training to states which adopt certain other steps to decrease motorcycle and motorcycle-vehicle accidents. It was strongly supported by motorcycle riders in Alaska and across the country. Motorcycle accidents have been on the increase, as lack of funding for education and training has led more and more people to start riding without adequate training.

Specific Project Funds Requested by Senator Murkowski

Statewide: Culvert replacement and repair to improve fish habitat $5,000,000

Statewide: Mobility coalition--job access transportation $250,000

Interior Alaska

Tanana River Bridge replacement, including but not limited to transportation improvements, near Delta Junction $5,000,000

Road improvements to service roads and other items in the Fairbanks/North Star Borough $5,000,000

O'Connor Road Bridge Replacement in Fairbanks $250,000

Dalton Highway upgrades including but not limited to transportation improvements $5,000,000

McCarthy Road Access Upgrades including but not limited to transportation improvements $5,000,000 Road erosion control along the Yukon River near McGrath $500,000

Homestead Road/North Pole High School Boulevard Extension Project $500,000

Dust Control Mitigation in Tanana $500,000

Richardson Highway upgrades including but not limited to transportation improvements $5,000,000 Northwest

Cape Blossom Road improvements in Kotzebue, including but not limited to transportation improvements $5,000,000

Municipal Road Paving Projects in Kotzebue $2,000,000

Dust Control Mitigation projects in Nome $1,500,000

Southcentral

Intermodal facility improvements at the Port of Anchorage $7,000,000

Anchorage traffic congestion relief $5,000,000 Ferry construction between Anchorage and Port MacKenzie $5,000,000

Creekside Development improvements in Anchorage $3,000,000

Dimond Center Intermodal Facility in Anchorage, including but not limited to transportation improvements $3,000,000

Chester Creek handicapped and pedestrian access construction, surfacing and other improvements for 2006 National Veterans' Wheelchair Games $2,000,000

Study, design, and engineering of Knik Crossing approach routes to minimize traffic congestion $2,000,000

Transportation needs for Glacier/Winner Creek Development in Anchorage $1,000,000

Intermodal deep-water dock facility improvements in Homer $2,000,000

Kenai Borough road improvements $2,500,000

Keystone Drive Road improvements in Soldotna $3,000,000

Southeast

Gustavus dock replacement, including but not limited to design, engineering, permitting, and construction $3,000,000

Ketchikan marine dry-dock improvements $22,000,000

Walden Point Road transportation improvements in Metlakatla $5,000,000

Petersburg road improvements, including but not limited to transportation improvements $2,000,000 World War II Causeway Trail and Multi-use Pathway projects in Sitka $1,000,000

Improvements to Indian River Road in Sitka, including but not limited to transportation improvements $500,000

Road improvements in Wrangell, including but not limited to transportation improvements $2,000,000 Planning, design, and EIS of Bradfield Canal Road $2,000,000

Southwest

Aleknagik Wood River Bridge improvments, including but not limited to transportation improvements $3,000,000

Chignik Inter-Village Roads, including but not limited to transportation improvements $5,000,000 Westside development/Williamsport-Pile Bay Road on Bristol bay, including but not limited to transportation improvements $2,000,000

Naknek River bridge and access, including but not limited to transportation improvements $3,000,000 Western

Dust Control Mitigation in Bethel $1,500,000 Crooked Creek Road improvements to Donlin Mine, including but not limited to transportation improvements $2,000,000

http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=242309