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Draft transportation plan includes road, airport improvments

A road along the Kvichak River? Airport improvements in Togiak and Dillingham? Those are just a few of the projects detailed in a draft transportation plan that could guide future spending in the region.

The draft Southwest Alaska Transportation plan includes a dozen projects throughout the region, including a road along the Kvichak River and improvements at the Dillingham, Togiak, Chignik and Chignik Lake airports. But that doesn’t mean any of those are a go just yet.

DOWL Engineers is putting together the plan for the state Department of Transportation, and planner Addison Smith said the plan prioritizes possible projects in the region.

“The projects that are identified in the plan are not guaranteed to be considered or funded,” she said. “This is not a planning document that constrains DOT to funding this project, it’s a document that the communities in Southwest Alaska will use to go and seek funding from various funding sources, maybe down in Washington D.C., the Denali Commission, the Department of Transportation, BIA.”

The draft plan identifies twelve recommended projects. Five are airport improvements for Togiak, Dillingham, Chignik Lake, Chignik and False Pass. Many of the others are roads, including improvements for the Williamsport Road that connects Cook Inlet to Lake Iliamna and construction of a road that would bypass the braided section of the Kvichak River, called the Kaskanak Road. The plan also includes an extension to the Anton Larson Bay Road on Kodiak Island, and construction of the King Cove-False Pass Road. Other items in the draft are replacement of the Tustamena ferry, ongoing funding for ferry operations and work at the Unalaska Marine Center.

The document also suggests that the State Department of Transportation review area roads and divest of those that are primarily local.

Smith said that the unifying theme between all the projects is connectivity, and all the projects in the plan are significant to the region, not just one community.

“They provide access to public facilities, jobs, other communities – or they provide access to major modes of transportation,” Smith said.

The full plan is available online, and comments are being taken through April 1.