Alaska now has a Road to Nowhere going to what would have been the Bridge to Nowhere.
By STEVE QUINN – 7 hours ago
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska now has a Road to Nowhere going to what would have been the Bridge to Nowhere.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's transportation department has completed a $25 million gravel road leading to the site of a bridge that Palin, as John McCain's vice presidential candidate, now boasts that she stopped, so as to save taxpayers money. The road was built with federal tax dollars.
Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein said the 3.2-mile road will be useful for road races, hunters and possibly future development. But with no bridge to serve it, that's probably about it.
"I think it will be good for recreational things like a 5K and a 10K," Weinstein said. "And instead of people walking through brush, it may be used for hunting in the area."
Palin repeatedly tells campaign crowds she said "thanks but no thanks" to Washington when it came up with $400 million for a bridge linking Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport. In fact, she turned against the bridge only after it became a national symbol of wasteful spending and Washington had backed off financing the project.
Roger Wetherell, speaking for the state Transportation Department, said the road opened several days ago might someday get people to and from Gravina Island after all, if cheaper designs for a bridge become a reality. Meantime, it opens access to land development, he said.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska now has a Road to Nowhere going to what would have been the Bridge to Nowhere.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's transportation department has completed a $25 million gravel road leading to the site of a bridge that Palin, as John McCain's vice presidential candidate, now boasts that she stopped, so as to save taxpayers money. The road was built with federal tax dollars.
Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein said the 3.2-mile road will be useful for road races, hunters and possibly future development. But with no bridge to serve it, that's probably about it.
"I think it will be good for recreational things like a 5K and a 10K," Weinstein said. "And instead of people walking through brush, it may be used for hunting in the area."
Palin repeatedly tells campaign crowds she said "thanks but no thanks" to Washington when it came up with $400 million for a bridge linking Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport. In fact, she turned against the bridge only after it became a national symbol of wasteful spending and Washington had backed off financing the project.
Roger Wetherell, speaking for the state Transportation Department, said the road opened several days ago might someday get people to and from Gravina Island after all, if cheaper designs for a bridge become a reality. Meantime, it opens access to land development, he said.
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