(KODIAK) - Representative Dan Ogg (R-Kodiak) has been informed by Better Ferries for Alaska that the draft ferry funding priority list that will go to our congressional delegation includes a fast ferry for Kodiak. Currently we are at number eight on that project list.

Specifically, a 105-meter (approx. 344 foot) fast ferry would be built to run between Homer and Kodiak on a daily basis. Once a week the vessel would transit to Anchorage and then back to Homer and Kodiak. The entire cost of the new fast ferry has been estimated to be $75 million, with a $7 million request to be submitted this year for the development of such a vessel.

Representative Ogg has been working vigorously since taking office with this group, Senator Lisa Murkowski and the Alaska Department of Transportation to raise their awareness concerning the need for improved service to Kodiak. "Kodiak deserves dependable and predictable service from our marine highway," said Ogg. He continued, "Imagine having a ferry that arrives and departs at the same time everyday - think of the convenience and economic gains from such a schedule."

The entire 2005 funding request as being distributed by Better Ferries for Alaska for the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is $89 million. This priority list is scheduled to be finalized sometime in October and then forwarded on to the delegation. The group felt compelled to draft this list as most people recognize the fact that within the next 6 years the state will be taking the Taku, the Matanuska, and the Malaspina off-line because of new international safety standards. The AMHS ferry Tustemena is slated to be retired in 2015, that's why that vessel also made the list to be replaced. The total approximate cost for a new vessel to replace the "Trusty Tusty" is $95 million.

"It is imperative that we work with our congressional delegation to ensure new investments are made to keep our coastal communities thriving. We deserve no less since the water is our highway to the rest of Alaska and the Lower 48," said Ogg.

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