Gov. Dunleavy and Anchorage Mayor Bronson revive proposal for controversial Bragaw-Elmore extension

A long-sought, controversial idea to extend Bragaw Street and Elmore Road into Anchorage’s University-Medical District is back.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy included $22 million in a recent bond package proposal to pay for it. Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson “looks forward to (the proposal) advancing through the Legislature,” a spokesman for the mayor said, and Bronson has tasked a municipal advisory committee with exploring the concept.

Currently there is no new, specific route under development, city and state officials say. But community councils that have opposed the idea in the past are already wary.

Dunleavy and Bronson are the latest in a line of Alaska leaders dating back more than three decades who have hoped to connect Bragaw Street to Elmore Road less than a mile away, with a north-south corridor through land largely owned by the University of Alaska Anchorage.

It’s called the “Northern Access Project to University Medical District” in the governor’s $325 million general obligation bond package. Many people know the project as the Bragaw extension.

Dunleavy and Bronson say the road would improve medical access and create economic opportunity in an area of high employment that’s home to UAA, Alaska Pacific University, Providence Alaska Medical Center and the Alaska Native Medical Center.

“The project was included in the bond (package) because it will relieve traffic congestion in East Anchorage and greatly improve access to two of the city’s major hospitals,” said Jeff Turner, a spokesman for the governor, in an emailed statement. “The road will also open up university land on the north side of the UAA campus for new educational facilities.”

Past efforts have faced stiff opposition from community councils in the area and other local political leaders. Critics say it’s a wasteful project that will slice through one of the city’s largest green spaces, hurting trails and wildlife and bringing more traffic near areas with community councils that don’t want it.

“It’s been referred to as ‘the zombie road,’ ” said project opponent Carolyn Ramsey, president of Citizens for Responsible Development. “It’s really expensive and it’s a bad idea and the costs far outweigh the benefits.”

Ramsey, also president of the Airport Heights Community Council, said the state has better things to spend money on.

“Why is Alaska putting that much money into seven-tenths of a mile of road that is not necessary or wanted?” she said.

Turner declined to comment on potential community council opposition. A spokesman for Bronson said the mayor looks forward to working with stakeholders if the bond proposal is approved.

Bronson views road as economic priority

The last attempt to build the road began stalling in late 2015, when former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz halted a project launched by his predecessor, Mayor Dan Sullivan. Berkowitz cited concerns about potential cost overruns and widespread community council opposition, led by Citizens for Responsible Development. Lawmakers in 2017 dealt the final blow, redirecting $17 million for the road to public schools.

Bronson is now reviving the idea under his administration. An economic development committee he created recommended it as one way to jump-start the Anchorage economy.

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Bronson has asked the group, the Anchorage Economic Revitalization and Diversification Advisory Committee, to recommend a potential path forward for the extension, according to a statement from the committee.

“The Bragaw extension is important to the development of our city and is vital to public safety,” Bronson’s office said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “The project will save lives by getting patients to the hospitals more quickly. The mayor wants a safer Anchorage for everyone, and this project helps achieve that goal.”

Referring to institutions such as the universities and hospitals in the area, the mayor said “all major parties impacted by the extension” agree it should be built.

As evidence of that agreement, Hans Rodvik, deputy communications director for Bronson, provided a 2013 memorandum of understanding. The document says the major institutions will work together to advance the project.

It was signed by the city and state, the two universities, Providence Health and Services, and the two operators of the Alaska Native Medical Center, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation.

The municipality still recognizes the agreement as valid, Rodvik said in an email. The administration has shared it with the University of Alaska Anchorage, Providence and Southcentral, and will reach out to others if the bond proposal is approved, the email said.

UAA and Providence

When asked about the project this week, two of the major institutions involved in the 2013 memorandum of understanding did not explicitly express support for the project.

UAA and Providence said they have supported the project in the past, but they held off saying they support the project now.

“Providence has historically supported increased access to the U-Med District in cooperation with all community partners,” the hospital said in a statement provided by spokesman Mikal Canfield. “We need to review the most recent proposal.”

Sean Parnell, chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage and a former Republican Alaska governor, said in an emailed statement that the university “continues to be open to engaging in the process.”

The university has included a possible Bragaw extension in campus plans, he said, and this latest concept will need significant public input.

He said the district, with its large employers, creates an area of tremendous economic opportunity.

“That’s one reason why special attention has been paid to this proposed transportation corridor, but a large infrastructure project of this size needs a full public process and UAA intends to be deeply involved,” Parnell said.

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Alaska Pacific University, Southcentral Foundation and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium did not respond to a request for comment about their current view of the extension.

However, there is currently not a new project proposal on the books for institutions and the public to evaluate.

Shannon McCarthy, a spokeswoman with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said there is currently no Bragaw extension project at the state, after the last one ended. Before it can become a new project, the budget proposal must clear the Legislature and voters, she said.

“At this point, this is just part of G.O. bond package legislation, so we don’t have a project start here,” she said.

McCarthy said the data, such as congestion in East Anchorage, shows there is a demonstrated need for the extension.

“We are aware there is congestion there and access can be improved,” she said.

The Northern Lights Boulevard and UAA Drive intersection, west of the proposed Bragaw link, ranks among the 12 most accident-ridden intersections in Anchorage, according to budget documents for Dunleavy’s proposal. There are few north-south transit options in East Anchorage, and the extension would reduce congestion at Lake Otis and Boniface parkways, the documents say. It could especially support East Anchorage and Eagle River residents trying to reach South Anchorage and medical and university facilities.

‘You think it settles down, then it pops up again’

Mike Robbins, who heads Bronson’s economic advisory committee and the Anchorage Community Development Authority, a city agency, said there is strong support for the proposal within the committee.

The committee plans to reach out to the universities, hospitals and community councils to get their ideas and feedback in an effort to advance the proposal, he said. The committee will present recommendations to the mayor on steps to move a project forward, perhaps by June.

Robbins said one benefit of the road extension is that it can lead to new development in the district to support jobs.

“I think it’s much-needed,” Robbins said. “We haven’t had a major road built in this city in years, we need to get moving and start making things happen again. It will be good for that area and the whole city.”

Leaders of community councils that opposed the last proposal, and local and state politicians who represent the area, said they’ll be tracking the effort closely.

“Our favorite subject,” said Al Milspaugh, vice president of the University Area Community Council. “You think it settles down, then it pops up again. Most of the community councils have been fighting against this for years now, and the politicians want to keep shoving it in there.”

“People are concerned about too much traffic, and wetlands in the area would make development extremely costly,” he said.

“But we’ll take it one step at a time,” he said.

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State Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, a Democrat, represents the area where the extension would be built.

“The community was in uproar for years about this project, and they’re shocked it’s being considered all over again,” she said. “They will get together en masse to oppose this.”

Forrest Dunbar, an Assembly member who represents parts of East Anchorage, said many residents are strongly opposed to the extension. He said he’s surprised the mayor is reviving it.

“It’s really risky for the green space and for the trails that are loved by the whole community, and Bragaw is not set up for a significant increase in traffic in the area,” he said.

Meg Zaletel, an Assembly member representing Midtown, part of which is just west of Bragaw, said she wants to see specific details, including whether steps have been taken to alleviate past concerns. But like the many community councils in the past, she opposes it at this point, she said.

“I would hope the mayor is bringing representatives to community councils and I hope he’s ready to talk to the community about what’s envisioned and why the project is being revived,” she said.

Assembly member Crystal Kennedy, one of two Assembly members representing Eagle River and Chugiak, where residents could benefit from quicker access to the U-Med District, said an extension could help ease traffic. But she’s also heard lots of negative things about past proposals.

She’ll have to review details of any project before taking a position, she said.