The Bridge to Nowhere

View Larger Map

So, there's all kinds of talk lately about Sarah Palin's support (or opposition) to the Bridge to Nowhere. I imagine most people don't know what or where this bridge was supposed to be and probably don't know how amazingly stupid the idea was. Ketchikan, Alaska is a beautiful little town in Southeast Alaska, a couple hours north of Seattle. The town was once predominantly a fishing community with a cannery or two and a lot of commercial vessels based there. There's still that, but the town has moved to being a tourist town. The salmon and halibut fishing is great in the area, so there's a lot of fishing tours out of Ketchikan. Additionally, many cruise ships either begin there or dock there at some point during their journey to peruse the old town area's charming shops and massive souvenir markets. Probably most important though is Ketchikan is home to an (international) airport that can land larger planes, so it is a great base point to anywhere you might need to travel in Southeast Alaska.

The "problem" with the airport is that it is based on an island seperate from the island Ketchikan is on. The news says the Bridge to Nowhere was going to connect the two, never mentioning how close they are or the infrastructure built up to get people form the airport ot where they need to go. You really have a few options. First, many people (and companies) in Ketchikan have boats and they can dock at the airport island. Second, float planes might pick you up from the island to take you directly to one of the more remote islands. Finally, and most importantly, there is a ferry that runs about every 15 (or 30) minutes from one side to the other.

The ferry costs 5 bucks or so per person and the ride is a whole 5 minutes. Look at the photo to the right there. To the road to the right of the image is the ferry at the airport. On the far shore, at the very left edge of the photo, is the ferry loading zone in Ketchikan. This is not a far distance. This ferry is very convenient, fast, and for many tourists (me) it is a charming entrance to the town.

But people want a bridge because it is easier and faster. When I'm going on vacation to a great fishing town, speed and efficiency are not really MY highest priorities. Maybe I'm just weird though.

Ok, so why would the Bridge to Nowhere be a REALLY stupid thing? And why would it cost so damned much money? Why should anyone with half a brain say it would be more trouble that it is worth? Because that little channel between Ketchikan and the airport island is a heavily traveled channel.



View Larger Map

In that map, do you see the large cruise ships docked at Ketchikan? Do you see the variety of smaller vessels moving about? I think I mentioned float planes at some point. How about the large ferries that run through there on the Alaska Marine Highway connecting other outlying islands? The point is, this is a busy channel that needs to have room for large vessels. A bridge over it would have to either be REALLY tall or a very significant drawbridge. It would hamper vessel traffic. It would be dangerous for the bazillion float planes that use the area. It would be really, really dumb. There is no reason to spend that much money to build a bridge to avoid a 5 minute ferry ride to the airport.

If Sarah Palin ever supported this stupid project then she is either:

a) a complete idiot, and/or

b) a wasteful spender who likes to throw taxpayer's money away on things she knows nothing about.

I hope this was educational in some way. I know a lot of people are talking about the Bridge, but most people don't seem to know what it is. I thought I would explain, with pictures.