The famous Alaskan “bridge to nowhere” may have been scrapped, but the $25 million road that would have lead up to it is now open for business.
Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein says the road remained in production because it’s perfect for hunting, road races and perhaps some commercial development. He did however acknowledge that without a bridge at its end, the road has little worth.
I think it’s ridiculous that the state gave the thumbs up for this project. A $25 million, 3.2-mile gravel road for hunting and road races? There’s about 14000 people who live in this town, and $25 million can be put to much better use.
This is actually a road to nowhere, it leads from a town to absolutely nothing. After the bridge’s plans got vetoed, why continue to make the road that leads up to it?
When I visualize it, I think of a road runner cartoon; the coyote chasing the road runner along a gravel road only to fall off a cliff because it leads nowhere. I know that’s not what it is, but it feels that way. Meep meep.
The state of Alaska is now also considering cheaper alternatives to the previously proposed $400 million bridge that would have connected Ketchikan’s Gravina Island airport to Revillagigedo Island, where the bulk of the residents of Ketchikan reside.
Gov. Sarah Palin was for the bridge a year before she was against it. She only started opposing it after the Alaskan people hailed the project as a national joke. They kept the $400 million and injected it into various other programs.