(SitNews) Juneau, Alaska - Tuesday the Alaska House of Representatives unanimously approved House Joint Resolution 6 expressing support for Congressional efforts to authorize construction of a life-saving road between the Southwest Alaska communities of King Cove and Cold Bay. The resolution is sponsored by Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon from Dillingham, who represents the communities in the Alaska Legislature.

“King Cove residents have been fighting for over 30 years to get approval for a road to the all-weather airport in Cold Bay and I am happy to once again take up their cause,” said Speaker Edgmon. “My colleagues and I don’t want to see any more loss of life because King Cove residents can’t get access to medical facilities in Anchorage via the Cold Bay airport. We are committed to public safety in every city, borough, and village in Alaska and it seems only fitting that this resolution is the first piece of legislation to pass the House this year.”

The proposed one-lane gravel road to connect King Cove and Cold Bay would cross the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, which requires approval by Congress and the President of the United States. In the last 30 years, 11 people have died during flights into or out of King Cove, which only has a small weather-dependent airport. The all-weather airport in Cold Bay is open year round and offers 24 hours a day access for medivacs to medical facilities in Anchorage.

“As an environmentalist, I understand the importance of the habitat in the Izembek Wildlife Refuge but the health and well-being of Alaskans is infinitely more important, which is why I voted for the King Cove Road resolution,” said Rep. Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage), who carried Speaker Edgmon’s resolution on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives today. “King Cove residents have been trying to get this road built for decades and every effort has been unsuccessful. However, I am hopeful a renewed national commitment to public safety will result in the political will to finally build this environmentally friendly, 12 mile road that will save lives.”

The existing King Cove airport is often made inaccessible by bad weather, which requires residents to travel by boat to the airport in Cold Bay for emergency medivacs. A road connecting the two communities would make it easier and safer for King Cove residents to access life-saving medical facilities in Anchorage.

House Joint Resolution 6 passed the Alaska House of Representatives Tuesday by a vote of 39-0 and was sent to the Alaska Senate for consideration.

Editing by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

Alaska House Majority Coalition
www.akhouse.org

 

Representations of fact and opinions in comments posted are solely those of the individual posters and do not represent the opinions of Sitnews.

SitNews ©2017
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources. E-mail your news & photos to editor@sitnews.us Photographers choosing to submit photographs for publication to SitNews are in doing so granting their permission for publication and for archiving. SitNews does not sell photographs. All requests for purchasing a photograph will be emailed to the photographer.