Juneau -- Finding no valid reason for Alaskans to pay additional money for the Anchorage International Airport expansion project, Senate President Drue Pearce (R-Anchorage) announced today that she no longer supports the $230 million project - the largest single public project ever funded by the State of Alaska.

Senator Pearce called for the Department of Transportation to suspend expenditures on all aspects of the project except design until costs meet the approved budget constraints.

Pearce said the project is riddled with flaws. "With just the schematic design phase completed, the $230 million airport project is already 17% over budget. The final plan is not yet completed, but project managers have already expanded the terminal by 68,000 square feet or 10% -- and apparently nobody thought of including a baggage handling facility in the original proposal."

"The construction phase hasn't even begun and the Department of Transportation has already identified $20 million in additional costs and used a large portion of its contingency funding for unanticipated costs," said Pearce. "This runaway spending reminds me of the Anchorage Performing Arts Center - a project that was out of control from day one, poorly designed and way over budget!"

"I worked hard last year to convince skeptical legislators to support this project so that Alaska can compete in the global market place," Pearce said. "However, during my tenure as Senate President, I will not ask Alaskans to pick up the tab for poor planning and wasteful spending - especially when we are working to address a $1.2 billion fiscal gap."

"Letting the project managers and air carriers proceed with no budgetary constraints will mean higher ticket prices and other costs will be passed on to the consumer," said Pearce. "I'm not willing to accept the Department of Transportation's wish list."

"In the real world, if you're building a house and it's over budget, you start choosing less expensive options. Alaskans must live within their budgets. I think the state should as well."