Wrangell Sentinel -

The Alaska Department of Transportation presented its 2011 scoping report update for the Southeast Alaska Transportation Plan on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the James and Elsie Nolan Center in Wrangell.

The purpose of the meeting, which has also been held in other communities across Southeast, was to inform the public about six possible outcomes of ADOT’s long-range planning for transportation issues in the region.

The alternatives presented range from no change in the current plan to the discontinuation of ferry service to Bellingham or across the Gulf of Alaska. Other alternatives also call for the replacement of three current Alaska Marine Highway System ferries with new, Alaska-class ferries.

According to the scoping document, The M/V Malaspina, M/V Matanuska and M/V Taku are reaching the end of their service life and will need to be replaced within the next 14 years. Any new vessels built to replace them would require six to seven years to develop from the drawing board to construction.

Because of the timeline involved, the process to build the new vessels would have to begin by 2017 – soon after the release of the next SATP update.

Alternative One would keep the “status quo,” according to Potdevin, by not pursuing any major actions across the services now seen. The current sailing schedules between Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan would hold firm at five trips per week in the summer and three trips per week in the winter.

A drop in ferry service – and thus, reduced costs – would be the hallmark of Alternative Two and would reduce to three the number of summer trips per week. Winter service would fall to just two trips per week under the plan.

And if Bellingham looms large in your travel plans, Alternative Three is not the one for you.

Under that alternative, ferry service to Bellingham and across the Gulf of Alaska, including to Yakutat, would be eliminated. Ferry runs between each city on the Petersburg to Ketchikan runs would be reduced to four trips weekly during the summer and two in the winter.

Alternative Four would replace two mainline ferries with Alaska Class ferries and a third mainline ferry would be replaced by new ferry vessel. The Alaska Class ferries would not include staterooms.

Service in Wrangell would decrease significantly under the plan – with weekly trips going down to three during both summers and winter.

The focus of Alternative Five would be to replace the existing mainline ferry system with one based on roadways and connected by shuttle ferries at various locations along the route.

A marine highway between Petersburg and Kake, as an extension of Highway 7, would be developed along with a ferry across the Wrangell Narrows. There would be no direct ferry routes between Petersburg and Juneau or Sitka. Travelers on those routes would be re-routed through Kake, with the number of those voyages tripling.

Trips directly between Wrangell and Ketchikan would also be eliminated, as would Bellingham and Gulf of Alaska service.

So how would you get from Wrangell to Juneau?

First you would take a ferry to South Mitkof Island. Then, you would drive to Petersburg, ferry across the Wrangell Narrows, take Highway 7 to Kake, catch a ferry to Angoon – and then, finally, take a ferry to Juneau.

Alternative Six would change nothing, with no steps taken to maintain or replace the aging AMHS fleet.

Currently, the SATP covers primary roadways in the ADOT network, 11 airports and 23 seaplane floats, and operation of the AMHS.

Mayor Jeremy Maxand submitted a number of his own recommendations online suggesting what he though would be positive considerations for the plan.

“I asked what impact would changing the current service have on local employment, particularly with AMHS,” Maxand said. “I also want to know what economic impact each alternative would have on transportation for lower-income families.”

Maxand added that he believes the criteria need to strengthen and not weaken the economy, and they cannot create an overly harsh burden on low-income families using the ferry.

Any final SATP needs to provide year-round access, Maxand added.

“The road plan under winter conditions creates concern,” Maxand said. “Isolated communities and harsh weather conditions makes us question the emergency response capacity regarding the road-based alternatives.”

The first SATP was published in 1980 and has been updated or revised in 1986, 1999 and 2004 as a part of the Alaska Statewide Transportation Plan.

Aside from city and borough governments, ADOT has sought input from tribal entities, the Marine Transportation Advisory Board, and other interested federal or state agencies on the scoping plan.

By law, the SATP is reviewed and updated every five years.

Comments will be accepted on the scoping report until Nov. 4. Following the first-round of meetings, ADOT will prepare a draft of the SATP and a final plan will be prepared after a second round of meetings and consideration of public comment.

Public comments can be emailed to dot.satp@alaska.gov.