As the Alaska Marine Highway System turns 60, the federal government this week announced $285 million for ferry improvements.
dock infrastructure in Juneau and Cordova and entirely replace docks in Pelican, Tatitlek and Chenega. The investment will also help construct an electric ferry and lower the ferry system’s emissions.
The federal dollars require an approximately $105 million match from the state of Alaska. The Alaska Legislature has already appropriated some of those funds — and will need to appropriate more — but it’s currently unclear how much. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is set to release an amended budget proposal in February that should provide more clarity.
Southeast Conference Executive Director Robert Venables said he expects the state to pay the matching funds, and that missing out on the windfall from the federal government “would be like looking a gift horse in the mouth.”“We’ve got vessels that are 60 years old that we’re still trying to patch up and use and others that are kind of mismatched,” Venables said.Reporter Riley Rogerson is a full-time reporter for the ADN based in Washington, D.C.
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