Gravina Island Highway

The Gravina Island Highway is a 3.2-mile-long (5.1 km) gravel highway located on Gravina Island, in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. The highway was part of a project that would connect Gravina Island, specifically, the Ketchikan International Airport, to the city of Ketchikan. The Gravina Island Bridge, which would have connected the highway to Ketchikan was cancelled, but the highway was built. Because the highway does not pass by or connect to any village or other place of importance, it has been nicknamed the Highway to Nowhere.

Gravina Island Highway
Highway to Nowhere
Route information
Maintained by AkDOT&PF
Length3.2 mi[1] (5.1 km)
ExistedSeptember 2008[2]–present
Major junctions
South endDead end point where original Gravina Island Bridge would have connected
North endAccess road to Ketchikan International Airport near Ketchikan
Location
BoroughsKetchikan Gateway
Highway system

Route description
Gravina Island, as seen from Ketchikan

The Gravina Island Highway begins at a cul-de-sac on the coast of Gravina island, at the point where the originally proposed bridge would have spanned.[3] The highway then proceeds westward, as a two-lane, unpaved gravel road. After a short length, the road turns northward, passing a few small lakes, and a large forest. The roadway continues northwest, passing several small creeks, a small pond, and an unpaved private driveway. The highway then crosses over the Government Creek via the Government Creek Bridge, a 143-foot-long (44 m), two-lane, concrete-constructed bridge over the creek.[4][5] The highway continues northwest, traveling near the coast for several miles, continuing through forests, before crossing Gravina Creek via the Gravina Creek Bridge, a 63-foot-long (19 m), two-lane, concrete-constructed bridge traveling over the creek.[4][5] The road travels northwest for about another 0.1 miles (0.16 km), before intersecting a two-lane, gravel access road to the international airport. The Gravina Island Highway officially ends here, as does state maintenance, but a gravel road continues northwest.[6] The road to northwest connects to a much simpler road. The access road has a tunnel under the airport runway.

History

In the early 1980s, the state of Alaska began a study to create an improved connection between Gravina Island and Revillagigedo Island.[7] The study was conducted to find an easy and effective way for transport between the two islands, in order to allow the city of Ketchikan to expand to the developmental land on Gravina Island.[8]

In 2002, it was proposed that a for-profit prison corporation, Cornell Corrections, build a prison on the island. To connect the island with Ketchikan, it was originally planned that the federal government spend $175 million on building a bridge to the island, and another $75 million to connect it to the power grid with an electrical intertie. The Ketchikan Borough Assembly turned the proposal down when the administration of Governor Tony Knowles also expressed its disfavor to the idea. Eventually, the corporation's prison plans led to the exposure of the wide-ranging Alaska political corruption probe, which eventually ensnared U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. The bridge idea persisted. The 2005 Highway Bill provided for $223m to build the Gravina Island Bridge between Gravina Island and nearby Ketchikan, on Revillagigedo Island. The provisions and earmarks [9] were negotiated by Alaska's Rep. Don Young, who chaired the House Transportation Committee and were supported by the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Alaska's Senator Stevens.[10] This bridge, nicknamed "The Bridge to Nowhere" by critics, was intended to replace the auto ferry which is currently the only connection between Ketchikan and its airport. While the federal earmark was withdrawn after meeting opposition from Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, though the state of Alaska received $300 million in transportation funding, [10] the state of Alaska continued to study improvements in access to the airport, which could conceivably include improvements to the ferry service.[11] Despite the demise of the bridge proposal, Governor Sarah Palin spent $26 million in transportation funding for the planned access road on the island that ultimately served little use.[12][1]

Major junctions

The entire route is in Ketchikan Gateway Borough.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
​0.00.0Cul-de-sac dead endSouthern terminus
​3.25.1Ketchikan International Airport Access RoadNorth end of Gravina Island Highway naming
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. Hayasaki, Erika (September 19, 2008). "Palin said yes to a road to nowhere". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  2. "Palin Admin. Oversaw $26 Million Road to 'Nowhere'". The Daily Beast. September 16, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  3. Lende, Heather. "Alaska's Road to Nowhere". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  4. Bridge Design Section (2009). "2009 Bridge Inventory Report" (PDF). Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. p. 164. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  5. "Bridge Statistics for Ketchikan, Alaska (AK) - Condition, Traffic, Stress, Structural Evaluation, Project Costs". City-Data.com. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  6. Google (May 30, 2012). "Map of Gravina Island Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  7. Forgey, Pat (January 19, 2010). "Audit criticizes Gravina spending". Juneau Empire. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  8. Williams, Jr., Lew M. (February 6, 2002). "My Turn: Gravina Island, the only way to go". Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  9. The Politics of the 'Bridge to Nowhere' Archived September 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Newsweek (September 8, 2008). Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  10. Alaska kills infamous 'bridge to nowhere' that helped put end to earmarks, Washington Times, Stephen Dinan, November 8, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  11. State studying ways to link Ketchikan, Gravina Island Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine. Bohrer, Becky. Juneau Empire, July 1, 2013
  12. The bridge failed, but the 'Road to Nowhere' was built, CNN, Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein, September 24, 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2019.

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