U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have expressed their support for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s recent announcement of over $50 million in grants for Alaska. These funds, distributed through the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROJECT) program, are part of the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act. The goal is to enhance community resilience efforts and secure funding for vulnerable coastal infrastructure as well as create and maintain evacuation routes.
“Rural Alaska’s communities are on the front-line of climate change, facing devastating impacts from extreme weather events,” stated Sen. Murkowski. She emphasized the need to make communities more resilient against these frequent occurrences and expressed satisfaction with the grants made possible by the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act targeting regions in dire need.
Senator Sullivan highlighted past events like Typhoon Merbok that demonstrated the necessity for enhanced resilience in rural areas. “As a member of the Senate EPW Committee, I’ve worked hard to prioritize rural Alaska infrastructure in major federal transportation packages,” he said. He believes these new grants will bolster transportation infrastructure across several communities, better equipping them to protect Alaskans during future natural disasters.
The funding has been allocated to several projects throughout Alaska:
– City of North Pole: A drainage improvement project aimed at mitigating social and environmental impacts of flooding will receive $752,142.
– Kawerak, Inc.: Planning and design for an evacuation road in Shaktoolik will be funded with $1,976,040.
– Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska: Efforts to strengthen transportation resilience on Unalaska Island will be supported with $2,950,741.
– Bristol Bay Native Association, Inc.: An emergency evacuation road project in Ekuk is set to receive $4,525,970.
– Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities: Projects addressing damage from Typhoon Merbok in Elim, Golovin, Koyuk, and Hooper Bay will benefit from a substantial allocation of $40,544,000.
These initiatives are expected to significantly improve infrastructure resilience in rural Alaskan communities.
