Senator Ellis pledges support for Anchorage mayor's traffic plan
http://www.akdemocrats.org/Documents/042604_lake_otis_tudor_fix_announced.pdfAdditional information: Ellis
JUNEAU - Today Senate Democratic Leader Johnny Ellis (D-Anchorage) promised an all-out effort to secure state funding to fix the infamous Lake Otis and Tudor traffic gridlock. On Friday, April 23, Anchorage mayor Mark Begich announced his plan to relieve congestion at Anchorage's worst traffic bottleneck. Begich and Ellis met Monday in Juneau to coordinate their road financing strategy.
"Mayor Begich has a realistic plan to fix the Tudor nightmare," said Senator Ellis, "and I believe the state should step up to help make it happen." The plan is to shift the Lake Otis and Tudor intersection to the east and build four new turn lanes by 2006.
Municipal and state cooperation is important for the project since the state owns three-quarters of the intersection. Anchorage has scraped together approximately $3 million dollars for necessary property acquisition but $9 million in state funds are required for design and construction.
"It does not matter to me whether the state money is put in the capital budget or some other bill, as long as we get busy on the headache that’s gone on far too long," Ellis said.
Mayor Begich agreed: "I would respectfully request that everyone, legislators and the governor, work together for the best interest and safety of Anchorage drivers."