"Juneau Access"

Dunleavy spokesman Matt Shuckerow says the change doesn’t mean the governor is making any of the projects a priority, but it sends a message.

John MacKinnon was the department’s deputy commissioner of highways and public facilities from 2003 to 2008. He also served on the Juneau Assembly and the Juneau Planning Commission.

Unions and Republicans aren’t natural allies, but there is one issue that’s clearly tying the candidate’s support together.  

Walker announced in 2016 that he wasn’t going ahead with the project. But the new Federal Highway Administration decision finalizes that choice.

A spending bill passed by the Legislature revives plans for a road north out of Juneau. The capital budget also funds a hydroproject in Kake and a fish hatchery near Petersburg.

The Senate’s capital budget also doesn’t include Medicaid funding that state officials say is needed by next week to pay health care providers.

Late last year, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said he would not pursue construction of the controversial Juneau Access Project. The project’s goal was to improve transportation between Juneau and the road-system-connected Haines and Skagway.

Observers note the state has largely stopped funding its own construction projects. Now most of the capital budget comes from federal spending.

Lawmakers plan to spend as little as one day in Juneau, as they meet Thursday for their third special session this year.

Boosters of the road say they remain committed to pushing for better Juneau access. The proposed resolution will be a test of the Juneau Assembly’s support for the politically divisive project.