Anchorage planners say state's draft road plan overstates local federal grant by $40 million

Staff at Anchorage's regional transportation planning group say the state's draft four-year road plan duplicates the city's own federal project list and lists $40 million more in work than the money available covers, according to draft comments on the plan.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities released the draft 2027-2030 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, its list of road projects expected to receive federal money, on Sept. 14. Public comment is open through Oct. 29.

The draft comments were prepared by Aaron Jongenelen, executive director of Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions, known as AMATS. It is the federally designated group that plans how federal transportation money is spent in the Anchorage area. The comments say the state did not coordinate with AMATS before releasing the draft.

According to the comments, the state copied Anchorage's approved project list into its plan and got the numbers wrong. The draft shows Anchorage's share of a federal highway block grant committed to $40 million more in projects than the grant will pay for, the comments say, and the listed projects leave out the required local matching money, meaning "all the project costs are incorrect."

AMATS asks the state to remove the copied section and instead refer to Anchorage's own list, called the Transportation Improvement Program. The comments also say the draft lists the wrong mileposts for the Seward Highway, 98.5 to 112 instead of 98.5 to 118.

Comments on the state plan go to [email protected] or through the department's comment page. The planning group's documents do not include a response from the state transportation department.