A Proposal to Save the Alaska Marine Highway
by Senator Robin L. Taylor
The island archipelago of Southeastern Alaska has many stretches of deep water, making bridge construction uneconomical and in many places down right impossible. Our Alaskan forefathers therefore envisioned the expansion of logging and resource haul roads with ferry ports that would interlink the islands, eventually providing for Southeast Alaska's regional transportation needs.
Because of this, soon after statehood, the people of Southeast Alaska banded together and petitioned the state to create a "Marine Highway". They called themselves the Southeast Conference and their dream was to build "an inter-modal transportation system" that would provide connecting ferry links to the existing and expanding network of roads.
Unfortunately they never contemplated the power of bureaucracy or its total lack of common sense and vision.
As a consequence of this lack of vision, we still have the same vessels making the same runs, even though literally thousands of miles of interconnecting roads have been built. This has resulted in the stagnation of the Marine highway system and has greatly contributed to a downturn in the economies of the entire region. Unfortunately, because the system reached summer capacity within the first few years of operation, we entered a period of grid lock that has now existed for over twenty-five years
Some, including the current administration, believe the ferry system is in a death spiral and the only solutions they can contemplate are terminating runs, reducing schedules and selling vessels. I believe, however, that the survival of Southeast Alaska turns upon a viable and expanding system of transportation.
The nay-sayers proclaim that costs must be reduced and propose cutting the size of the fleet. That makes absolutely NO sense.
In order to improve efficiency, I propose the reconfiguration our current fleet.
We need to keep our current large-capacity vessels, which are a valuable asset to the State and need to be refurbished and maintained for future service. At the same time we need to build a supplemental fleet of shuttle ferries to expand service levels and to take advantage of the network of roads that already exists throughout the region.
This incorporation of shuttle ferries into our existing fleet will expand service levels, increase revenue and add family-support jobs to the regional economy. This proposal would make the inter-modal system envisioned by those who created the Marine Highway system a reality. This expanded system would result in greatly increased traffic capacities, the economic rewards of which will be shared throughout our state.
Shuttle ferries are not a new idea. Two small ferries currently operate between Ketchikan and the airport on Gravina Island. Serving a community of 14,000 people, the Ketchikan/Gravina shuttle ferries carried 397,127 passengers and 89,376 vehicles in 1995. The entire Alaska Marine Highway System carried 378,085 passengers and 103,973 vehicles during that same year.
The Ketchikan/Gravina ferry, operated by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, is run by members of the IBU, receives no subsidy from the State and showed a net income of $53,000 in 1995. This system is proof that shuttle ferries are economically viable for short runs.
The key to being able to take advantage of the proven viability of shuttle ferries is the completion of several small but vital road connections:
None of these projects appear in the current five-year plans of DOT/PF.
A fourth connecting road, from Metlakatla to Walden Point on Annette Island, is a project of the US military in conjunction with DOT/PF. This road will provide a shuttle ferry connection between Metlakatla and Ketchikan and is due for completion in five years.
Completing the above road connections will allow for the operation of shuttle ferry service between:
Connecting these road systems would require the purchase of a minimum of six shuttle ferries capable of carrying at least 30 vehicles and one ferry with a 15-vehicle capacity. Many good, used vessels of the right class, speed and efficiencies are readily available or new vessels can be purchased for about $7.5 million each. (Note: This shuttle fleet could have been acquired as new vessels for less than the cost of the MV Kennicott.)
Augmenting our current Marine Highway System with a shuttle fleet could add up to 50 new jobs for AMHS employees. These would invariably be day jobs, allowing employees to go home at night to friends and family.
How would this shuttle fleet be integrated into the existing Marine Highway? Two of our mainliners would run from Juneau to Sitka and Petersburg. The eventual development of a road to Rodman Bay or Warm Spring would mean daily service to Sitka. Two mainliners would be needed to run south from Ketchikan to Bellingham and Prince Rupert and/or Hyder. The faster vessel could make two round trips to Bellingham per week. A fourth mainliner would easily shuttle up and down Lynn Canal.
The MV Le Conte and the MV Aurora would be dedicated to twice daily service between Ketchikan and Hollis and a run between Haines/Juneau/Skagway or to Sitka via the East side of Sturgis Narrows.
For the same cost as building the proposed Juneau/Skagway Access Road, we could:
This plan to increase transportation access through a reconfiguration of our Marine Highway System will require a transition and adjustment period. This plan will require the cooperation of the communities served and the people who staff the fleet. Without courage, vision and leadership, this will not happen. The alternative is the end of the Marine Highway System and the economic stagnation and isolation of Southeast Alaska.