Juneau pushes state to keep a second Douglas Island bridge in its road plan

Juneau has told the state that a second bridge to Douglas Island should be a high priority in the state's next transportation plan, calling it "a must" after the project was left out of the draft.

If the one bridge that now connects Juneau and Douglas Island failed or was blocked, island residents would be stranded, emergency services would be slowed and access to the hospital would be cut off, the city warns in its list of capital priorities. The city says a second crossing has been a community priority since the early 1980s.

The state's draft road plan for 2027 to 2030, the list of projects it expects to spend federal transportation money on, doesn't include the crossing.

State Transportation Commissioner Ryan Anderson told a Senate committee in September that the project is still active. It's missing, he said, because the money for design has already been committed through a federal grant and a congressional earmark, and the plan only shows money not yet committed.

Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau asked whether the state planned to spend that money and stop. "I don't think there is any intent to start something that stops here," Anderson said, adding that the state needs a finance plan with Juneau. Kiehl called it "a little concerning not to see any dollars programmed here, even into the furthest out years."

When the state's current plan was approved in 2024, it penciled in $400 million for construction from 2028 to 2030. A 2025 amendment dropped that money without saying why. The plan now lists about $23.5 million, for design and environmental review only.

No route has been picked yet. A state study released in July 2025 sent five possible routes, plus the option of building nothing, on to environmental review, with planning-level costs of $340 million to $530 million in 2024 dollars.

The city counts $26.5 million secured so far, including a $15.1 million federal grant and $7 million in congressionally directed spending secured with help from Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Once a route is chosen, the city plans to go after federal money for construction.

Next up is environmental review and early design, which the city expects to start this fall. Public comment on the state's draft plan closed Monday, and the state says it will respond to comments and revise the draft before sending the final plan to federal agencies.