The Alaska Department of Transportation asked the public to weigh in, via public opinion survey, on the future of transportation in the state as a result of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The November survey consisted of four questions and asked the public to share what modes of transportation they use most frequently, what they prioritize, as well as two open-ended questions about where they want to see improvements and their vision for Alaska’s transportation in 20 years. The department received 1,700 responses and over 3,000 comments.
Shannon McCarthy with the DOT told KSRM:
“So we had about 3,000 comments that we’ve received. It really does range. A lot of people were able to share their concerns with us about what their community roads look like, what state highways go through their communities and what they want to see. A lot of people mentioned safety. A lot of people mentioned marine highway. They want to see reinvestment in the system. It was as unique as Alaska is in terms of we had people from all over the state weighing in and talking about marine highway, airports, highway capacity, highway safety, maintenance as well was a big one. Lots of different feedback and I think what the department really loved was we loved starting that dialogue with the public and a lot of times when we have just a single public open house, we’re only able to talk about one project and this survey allowed us to ask the public about everything and they really turned out.”
The infrastructure bill will increase Alaska’s highway transportation funding formulas by 40% and doubles the state’s aviation formula funding program. In addition, the bill contains more specific programs that fund bridges, ferries, electrification of highways, and numerous discretionary grant items.
The DOT&PF created a webpage for the public to learn more about the Infrastructure Act. Click here for more information. Click here to view the complete survey results.