Whitehorse Daily Star

YG, Alaska seek highway money

The territorial government has joined its neighbours to the west in requesting funding a long-term work on a section of highways from Haines, Alaska to Beaver Creek.

By Whitehorse Star on October 22, 2018

The territorial government has joined its neighbours to the west in requesting funding a long-term work on a section of highways from Haines, Alaska to Beaver Creek.

That’s for the Shakwak project, for which the Yukon government collaborated with the State of Alaska for on a US25 million submission to the new United States Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) fund.

Highways and Public Works Minister Richard Mostyn wrote about the significance of securing funding to update the project in his June letter to Alaska Gov. Bill Walker.

The estimated cost of stabilizing and upgrading the road into the state is pegged at about $340 million (CAD).

The funds would help in maintenance and reconstruction costs for work that could begin in 2019-2020, leading into 2025.

Under the BUILD grant, the maximum that can be requested is US $25 million.

“Hundreds of thousands of American visitors drive through the territory to and from Alaska each year,” a Yukon government release noted this morning. It added that the territory and Alaska have a “longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship.”

Mostyn also said in the release: “I am proud to be collaborating with the Alaskan government to secure the necessary funding to upgrade this important piece of our shared infrastructure.”

Since the mid-1970s, improvements on the project have been funded through the Shakwak Agreement but they will be exhausted this year.

The Yukon government would provide a total of $5.9 million over six years, with work taking place along stretches of the Alaska Highway.

A decision on the application is expected sometime in December.

Comments (3)

Up 2 Down 0

Joseum Wales on Oct 23, 2018 at 8:27 pm

@What's math?
Smarty, are you an auditor?

Nice catch!

Up 9 Down 0

What's math? on Oct 23, 2018 at 11:36 am

Am I the only one who sees a tiny issue with this math?

Where as:
"The estimated cost of stabilizing and upgrading the road into the state is pegged at about $340 million (CAD)."
and
"The Yukon government would provide a total of $5.9 million over six years, with work taking place along stretches of the Alaska Highway."
plus
"Under the BUILD grant, the maximum that can be requested is US $25 million."
So $340M - $5.9M - $30M ($25M USD) still leaves over $300M required.

Where will this come from?

Up 11 Down 0

Joseum Wales on Oct 22, 2018 at 9:29 pm

We do not need improvements from Haines Junction to Haines Alaska.
Beaver Creek area is always a mess and some things money does not seem to help with.

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