JUNEAU -- The state transportation department has ordered $20 million worth of materials for construction of the Lynn Canal Highway, even though federal permits for the project have not been issued.
The November order included $585,073 for steel culverts for the road and about $11 million in concrete girders and $8.6 million in steel pile pipe for bridges.
The proposed 50-mile highway would link Juneau and the northern Lynn Canal communities of Haines and Skagway via shuttle ferries from the Katzehin Delta across from Haines.
Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, said he is troubled that the state is spending money on a project before it is given the final go-ahead.
"We don't do it for other projects. Why is this one so special? I've got miles of road in my districts, and other legislators do too," Thomas said.
Jeff Ottesen, director of the Division of Program Development in the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said it's not uncommon for the state to order materials for big projects before the final permits are issued.
Ottesen said by ordering the materials ahead of time, the state is saving money and contractors can begin work quickly once the permits are in hand.
"In this case there's a tremendous backlog, particularly for concrete girders and steel pile -- as much as two years," Ottesen said.
The order is expected to begin arriving by barge next September, according to state officials.
The project has divided residents of the capital city and raised concerns with other Southeast communities.
Advocates say a road would provide new economic and recreational opportunities for the area and help combat arguments that the capital city is too inaccessible.
Opponents cite environmental and safety concerns with the road and fear the cost of construction and maintenance of the road will suck funds from the Alaska Marine Highway System, which currently links Southeast communities by ferries.
They cheered when Gov. Sarah Palin last December revoked a contract to build a one-lane 11-mile gravel road out of Juneau, a project that was set in motion by her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski.
However, Palin said the Department of Transportation would continue with planning for a longer two-lane road north.
In a Jan. 12 letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, she asked the agency to put the project on the front burner.
"Please know that obtaining a permit decision on the East Lynn Canal Highway remains a priority for this administration," Palin wrote.
Meanwhile, Ottesen said if the project does not go forward, the materials can be used elsewhere.
"We have some large bridges to be replaced on the Alaska Highway and those beams, under the worst scenario, could be used there. Steel pile pipe and culvert are ubiquitous and could be used anywhere in the state," Ottesen said.
