On March 27th, 2024, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) four-year spending plan.
However, according to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP), approximately 65 projects—including the Kenai Spur Highway Rehabilitation and the Cooper Landing Bypass (Sterling Hwy MP 45-60)—are only “conditionally approved” provided the State meets certain criteria provided by the FHWA and FTA.
During his recent visit to the Kenai Peninsula, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, a member of the Environment Public Works Committee, discussed the status and funding progress of the Cooper Landing Bypass project.
“I have been kind of shocked at the cost overruns that have occurred with that, you know…This one, why it taken so much in terms of the expenses, I think almost triple the original estimate, is something that we’re all asking questions about. Again, we want infrastructure in the state, but we want it done in a timely, on time, on budget approach, this one is starting to have some real challenges, so I’m in the oversight mode of asking a lot of questions on that, particularly given that, like I said, I was walking the grounds last summer here, got a detailed briefing on it and at the time the cost estimates were much lower than they currently are,” said Sullivan.
When the Cooper Landing Project began in 2018, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities estimated the total cost to be about $350 million. Fast-forward to 2023, and the new estimated cost for the project has increased to $840 million, almost tripling the original anticipated cost.
A significant issue with the project, besides the increase in estimated cost, is the time it took to finalize the initial project. Sullivan says that something like this should not have taken this long to gain approval.
“The Cooper Landing Bypass is something I’ve been focused on for a really long time. First, that project took, depending on how you measure, almost 30 years to get the federal permits. 30 years. It was insane. Nothing should take 30 years, and we worked with the Trump administration, Secretary of transportation, to finalize that project,” said Sullivan.
At a local town hall meeting with the Department of Transportation, one of the big concerns is that the Cooper Landing Bypass is not expected to be completed until 2029 or 2030. But the existing highway is also being ignored.
Sullivan says that something that is so critical to Alaskans should not be neglected, especially when there are few other suitable roads for long-distance transportation.
“If the bypass is gonna take longer, we gotta make sure we’re not neglecting what Alaskans currently continue to use,” said Sullivan.