Last fall, after House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) earmarked $223 . its remote location makes it a rare tourist sigh - bridge to nowhere stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images So the tipping point, according to McCain was a year before Palin ran in Alaska supporting the bridge. This loop trail is just under three miles long, and a beauty to behold. Fiscally responsible Members of But it still hopes to acquire more land there for future development, he said. Thanks for the Ketchikan perspective. Bridge to Nowhere. In November 2006, Sarah Palin is elected and from what we can tell, she was supporting it. the bridge to nowhere is a unique and historical landmark in the development of new zealand. Watch where road ends . Mr. ASHDOWN: Tim Egan, he's a New York Times reporter who's an expert on Alaska, all things Alaska, and he'd read our write-up on the bridge. Ketchikan, Alaska is infamous for the now-abandoned plan to expensively bridge the strait between the city and its international airport on Gravina Island, dubbed (IMO, unfairly) a "bridge to nowhere". The trail crosses the river so often that you quickly . 07/10/2012 04:43 AM EDT. "We worked 30 years to get funding for this priority project.". Share. Yeah, this was taken last week. September 2006: Palin, campaigning for governor in Ketchikan, holds up a pro-bridge T-shirt proclaiming, "Nowhere Alaska 99901," referring to the primary zip code of Ketchikan. 546 reviews of Bridge to Nowhere "This hike reigns supreme as my favorite day hike in SoCal. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Alaska officially abandoned Friday a controversial $400 million public works project mockingly called the 'bridge to nowhere' that became a symbol of pork barrel spending. But she didn't attempt to void the already signed construction contracts for the approach road. A local newscast about Sarah Palin's history on the infamous pork project. Thanks Kristen I would love to visit Florida someday! Seven fish-bearing streams needed bridges. "The governor was left no viable alternative," Stapleton said. We may borrow that metaphor to contemplate whether the recent U.S.-China dialogue in Anchorage was a bridge to nowhere or will be a catalytic moment to construct a . become an object of national ridicule and a symbol of the fiscal The bridge was built in 1929 in the name of Henry Harrison McPhaul, a notable resident of Yuma. The critics called the road spending wasteful for the same reason. Gov. It charges $6 per adult, with free same-day return, and $7 per automobile also with same day return as of April 2021.[9]. Built in 1911 as part of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway (nicknamed Cant Run and Never Will), the Gilahina Trestle was not quite 900 long, and nearly 100 high. "There's some private land out there and some borough land, so it's being used for access to private lots and access to borough land, and it's also being used for some hunting, people going out sightseeing, berry picking, things like that. Call this the Railroad to Nowhere. There were a few different options created for the bridge and Im not sure what the final decision was as I moved from the area a few years ago, but I know several of the plans had the bridge quite a ways south of town, which would mean having to build a new road over on Gravina through an area that is not currently developed. Miles Glacier Bridge, Alaska, damaged by a 1964 earthquake (photograph by Jet Lowe) Birmingham, . defenders have been forced to resort to threats. Hi Annie. She changed her mind, he said, when "she saw that Alaska was being perceived as taking from the country and not giving". Alaska's Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere - The Gilahina Trestle fades into winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. I would not get in the way of progress. The cart was put before the horse when road builders constructed a massive concrete bridge over the San Gabriel River in 1936. Ron Niebrugge September 9, 2008 Alaska, Photos, Travel 13 Comments. [34], The city of Ketchikan has already begun to develop roads and a small amount of infrastructure for Gravina Island's 50 inhabitants. The 8,000 residents of Ketchikan continue to be connected to their airport by ferry. U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, both Republicans, championed the project through Congress two years ago, securing more than $200 million for the bridge between Revillagigedo and Gravina islands. She has dropped the line from her stump speech in the past week, but a McCain-Palin aide said that her prepared remarks are being tweaked as needed to reflect current events, and it could come back again. 2023 Getty Images. Market data provided by Factset. The Gilahina Trestle is now listed on the National Historic Register, which means itll probably come in for some funding to repair/restore it. This covered bridge could have elevators and escalators; if medical personnel need to reach the ferry, they can use it. Nowhere," the bridge in Alaska would connect the town of Ketchikan The next year, they changed the language. A spokeswoman for Young said the congressman would have no comment. Remember the "Bridge to Nowhere"? Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users "Bridge to Nowhere", "Alaska: End Sought For 'Bridge To Nowhere', "Two 'Bridges to Nowhere' Tumble Down in Congress", House Vote #159 (Mar 2, 2011) On Motion to Recommit with Instructions: H R 662 Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011, "Alaska 'bridge to nowhere' plan is no more as state chooses ferry for Ketchikan", "Ketchikan Gravina Island Access Project", "Airport Ferry - Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK", "Ketchikan airport and ferry statistics for December 2006", "Gravina Access Project, Record of Decision, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Ketchikan, Alaska. Boudreau also spoke to the McCainPalin campaign spokesperson Meghan Stapleton, who defended the road: "The governor could not change that earmark. The final stretch leads to the high-walled canyon known as the Narrows, where water squeezes through a deep and narrow gorge, spanned by the Bridge to Nowhere. And so, the governor had no options." the blue duck lodge located in the whanganui national park is a working cattle farm with a focus on conservation. ANCHORAGE The bridge to nowhere is still trying to get somewhere. Palin directed state transportation officials to find the most "fiscally responsible" alternative for access to the airport. A trail proceeds from their to the mining area at Taylor, Alaska. The California State Route 39 highway was supposed to connect the city of Los Angeles with rural communities in the San Gabriel . Sarah Palin as the controversy was unfolding and she told him . News, Dave Person wrote, "Thinking about the immense The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, with Gravina Island, an island that contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. Required fields are marked *. Im 62 years old, and now just finding out about pet projects, especially a bridge to no where..Im truly in shock.i watch Alaska Frontier n Homestead, and I love the Alaskan way, if only I knew sooner, about pet projects, and Im sure others feel same way, IV would have voiced my opinion sooner, God Bless Alaskans..and Alaska ?? Gov. "There is no question we desperately need to construct new roads in this state, including in southeast Alaska, where skyrocketing costs for the Alaska Marine Highway System present an impediment to the state's budget and the region's economy," von Scheben said in a statement. SIEGEL: This phrase has been caught by someone aspiring to the White House. Congress should be eager to zero out its funding. But I made it out for a few photos and back in one piece. [10] The bridge would cross the Tongass Narrows, part of Alaska's Inside Passage, so the bridge was designed to be tall enough to accommodate ship traffic, including the Alaska Marine Highway and the cruise ships that frequent Alaskan waters during the summer. In fact, rumor has it this bridge was a model for San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge. In American politics, Alaska is famous for wasted money on a "bridge to nowhere" in the early 2000s. Was it beautiful? Thank you! Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Ketchikan looks like a densely populated little strip. [15] On November 16, 2005, Congress stripped the specific earmark allocation of federal funds for the two bridges in the final edition of the omnibus spending bill, without changing the amount of money allocated for use by Alaska. Sarah Palin said Friday the project was $329 million short of full funding. The town seven blocks wide and eight miles long has little room to grow. Ronald Utt is the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Senior Research Fellow. You know, the senator has been committed to cutting wasteful spending for a long time. KETCHIKAN, Alaska (CNN) -- The "Bridge to Nowhere" may have been shelved. Fourteen years on, Palin's 'bridge to nowhere' comment still resounds. Sarah Palin holds up a T-shirt labeled "Nowhere, Alaska 99901" during a gubernatorial campaign forum in Ketchikan in 2006. Transportation officials at the time replied that the road was built with the support of Gov. In advertisements, McCain labeled the bridge as wasteful spending,[43] and in an August 2007 town hall speech recorded on video[44] and quoted again on April 30, 2008,[45] he blamed the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse on the Gravina Island Bridge. Today, the lonely Bridge to Nowhere still arcs gracefully over the San Gabriel River, providing one of Southern Californias oddest, albeit epic, hiking destinations. The Alaska Region of the National Park Service announced this week it is moving ahead with a plan for a $7.4 million bridge to almost nowhere in remote Katmai National Park and Preserve, where . (population 50) at a cost to federal taxpayers of $320 million, by [49], After canceling the bridge, Palin's administration spent more than $25 million to build the Gravina Island Highway, which would have connected with the proposed bridge. September 16, 2022 by James Brooks, Alaska Beacon. Not all the people in that community even were asking for a $400 million or $300 million bridge. ", In the Ketchikan A proposed Alaska bridge that became a symbol of wasteful federal spending on politicians' pet projects has officially been scrapped a decade after the idea was first floated, state officials said on Friday. Use them in commercial designs under lifetime, perpetual & worldwide rights. The trail crosses the river so often that you quickly abandon all hope of dry feet. Palin has been heavily criticized for repeating the stock line about killing the "Bridge to Nowhere" without noting that she supported the project as a candidate for governor. Following the construction of the island highway, the $28 million expenditure wound up being used by both bridge supporters to make the case for construction and bridge critics who called it a boondoggle. authority to be trusted with hard-earned tax dollars. Weight Limit is 10 tons. state-by-state allocation formula. disaster relief, Alaska's congressional delegation has dug in its Im sure the ferry owner is happy. With the Bridge to Nowhere a national laughingstock, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in October 2005 proposed an amendment that would have redirected $125-million in funding for the Alaska bridge . That's where the bridge was supposed to pick up." Under mounting political pressure over pork projects, Congress stripped the earmark or stipulation that the money be used for the airport, but still sent the money to the state for any use it deemed appropriate. ", Back in Anchorage, [54] The motion lost and the funding was kept. is Herbert and Joyce Morgan Senior Research Fellow in the Thomas A. The one section to the left looks like it is about to fall down already. In response to an inquiry of whether Palin could have stopped construction, Stapleton told Boudreau that Palin had "no viable alternative" because Congress had already granted the earmark and the contract for the road was signed before Palin took office. Keith Ashdown, the chief investigator for the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, is credited with naming the bridge. Yep, looks wide enough for perhaps at least a 2 lane paved highway maybe a Micky Ds rest stop over there at the end. The hike starts out weaving in and out the trees beneath the shaded cover of a well maintained path. What some people might not realize is that Bridge to Nowhere was actually part of a major infrastructure project. "We have nothing to show for it.". Your first glimpse of the bridge is astonishingits much larger and majestic than youd expectbut the weirdness doesnt stop here. Meandering through a forest, and along a gorgeous river, this hike offers it all. "It'd be nice to see them put something over here now they have a road: park, picnic benches, something to get people out here," said P.J. Or if your idea of fun is plunging off the side of a bridge, a bungee cord attached to catch your fall, then you could be up there too. Alaska should request that the funds appropriated for our bridges Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Unfinished highway bridges at the water reservoir Svihov. [2] As a result, Congress removed the federal earmark for the bridge in 2005. While the move closes a chapter that has brought the state reams of ridicule, it also leaves open wounds in a community that fought for decades to get federal help. The project wasn't going to be cheap, though: $398 million was the projected cost, and the project encountered steep opposition in the United States Congress in 2005. Much of the publics attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. 1. The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, with Gravina Island, an island that contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. by the House of Representatives, and finally cancelled in 2015. 662: Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011[4][5][6] "Gov. This may be the most well-known bridge to have never been built. Click for larger version. Never mind that We're talking, of course, about the famed plan to build a nearly $400 million bridge to connect the tiny Alaska city of Ketchikan to Gravina, an island with just a few dozen residents and an airport. Hopefully it works out for you Ron. But Weinstein, a Democrat, said Palin instead spent $26 million to build a road "that will not go to a bridge.". Mr. KEITH ASHDOWN (Chief Investigator, Taxpayers for Common Sense): We spent several months trying to figure out, you know, how could we make this sexy, so to speak, for the lower 48 states and for the news media. The little bit of development you do see on Gravina Island is the Ketchikan Airport, currently serviced by a ferry. Murphy, who works on the island. $148 million returning to Alaska as money the state could use at It's actually a nice road.". Dreamstime is the world`s largest stock photography community. This infamous bridge, from . I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. DOT says that the highway will still be useful to reach land on Gravina Island even without the bridge. [21][22][23][24][25], During her inaugural address on December 4, 2006, Governor Palin pledged responsible spending. Tell me about that. them by the taxpayers. Typically the flow is only a foot or two deeprefreshing on a warm daybut it can swell to impassable after big storms. Ketchikan, do not value the Gravina Island bridge project, its Bridge to Nowhere: Directed by Ian Mune. Located on a hiking trail in Denali National Park, this easy trail takes you along the river to a bridge right in the middle of nowhere. Gov. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. the blue duck lodge located in the whanganui national park is a working cattle farm with a focus on conservation. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. SIEGEL: Was there any moment in Governor Palin's handling of this appropriation that can be construed as her saying thanks, but no thanks? Great scenery, plenty of interesting details, and a clear, well-marked path. It's a 10-mile round-trip hike on the East Fork Trail along the San Gabriel River. That's progress. That had to be spent on the Gravina road and nothing else. However, residents continue to seek funding for the Ketchikan-Gravina span. Drive 11.6 miles north, passing the East Fork Ranger Station at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Today, the lonely Bridge to Nowhere still arcs gracefully over the San Gabriel River, providing one of Southern California's oddest, albeit epic, hiking destinations. I told the Congress, thanks, but no thanks on that Bridge to Nowhere. And one night, had a couple beers in me, and I got a little more creative and I came up with the term Bridge to Nowhere. In the 2008 presidential campaign, two projects in Alaska were ridiculed as examples of pork-barrel . Bridge to Nowhere is an unforgettable hike, and an understandable Los Angeles favorite. The Gilahina Trestle, crossing the Gilahina River, was once an impressive structure. There is a lot of snow out there already, or is this from last year? I suppose I should point out that the Bridge is not technically Alaskas famed Bridge to Nowhere, but the nomenclature seems to fit rightly enough. . Well this helps put a face to the name. "It kind of just curves around then it just stops. Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska became the object of strong media criticism when he strongly opposed diverting the Gravina and Knik Arm Bridge funds to help in the disaster aid. WASHINGTON President Biden's push to make his $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill a truly bipartisan affair is running up against a predictable but intractable problem: a lack of Republicans willing to come along. She said there wasn't enough money to . Just a little under 40 years later, in 1968, it was deemed unfit for modern traffic needs not difficult to understand, given its narrow width. All About Sarah Palin Alaska U.S. Presidential Election, iReport.com: Are you in a battleground state? I think were going to make a good team as we progress that bridge project" in response to an insult expressed by the state Senate president, Ben Stevens. Bridge to Nowhere photo, Ketchikan, Alaska. Federal Highway Administration spokesman Doug Hecox stated that Palin could have opted not to use the federal earmark, which would have allowed Congress the opportunity to send it to other federal needs. "[47], Many media groups in the U.S. noted that Palin changed her position regarding the bridges, and concluded that she exaggerated her claim that she stopped the proposals from going through. Gov. But some of that money was still spent building a road to nowhere. You know, wearing shirts that said I'm from nowhere Alaska to saying, we have to support our congressional delegation, their efforts to bring money back to our state. [18], In September 2006, during her campaign for Governor, Sarah Palin visited Ketchikan to express her support for the Gravina Island Bridge project. fact would be a considerable benefit to Alaska. From Alaska's 'bridge to nowhere' to Pyongyang's Hotel of Doom, via a 1bn arts centre with a dodgy roof, here are the world's most high-profile wastes of capital . Pass San Gabriel Reservoir and turn right on East Fork Road. SIEGEL: One reason this is so important to the GOP is that as late as 2006, Palin was taking a very Alaskan view of the bridge project. pictures of the bridge to nowhere in alaska. Nice to actually see where my tax dollars were supposed to be spent (hope you enjoyed them even if you didnt get the bridge ). bill to transfer the $223 million that Congress had previously Bridge to Nowhere Photo. Sept. 19, 2008 12 AM PT. The Ketchikan Daily News noted that, of the gubernatorial candidates, "Only Palin is consistent in support all of the projects". Improved access was to have come from the controversial bridge, but with bridge plans officially abandoned recently, the state is now looking to better ferry service to improve access to the airport and help open Gravina Island to development. Post-Convention Check-In With The Political Junkie. When I watched him campaign in South Carolina almost a year ago, it was the centerpiece of his speech.