Thursday, April 30, 2009

Humanitarian Roads?

With the hunger versus heat crisis that happened in Western Alaska this winter, I wonder how serious our leaders are when it comes to building up a wide array of transportation infrastructure in rural Alaska. I personally believe that now is the time to start building a network of gravel roads stretched across Alaska.
There is the proposed Yukon River Highway, but I believe that the tribes should take it up as a sovereign issue. I mean that there shouldn't be any new bridges over the Yukon at Tanana and over the Koyukuk River at Koyukuk to constrict runaway development in this vast area. Yet build a paved highway running from Kaltag to Nome.
If you look at my other site http://accessparty.com you could find my rural roads page and other pages on the site to really determine your own thoughts about how I justify building a network of new roads to many villages.
Further advancing my ideas is the humanitarian crisis that occured a short time ago. That alone should in all context of the issue be reason enough to launch a new massive humanitarian effort to give a new mode of transportation to rural Alaskans that is way behind America and urban Alaska.
The military launched a massive effort with their broad resources in building the Alaska-Canadian Highway in order to move supplies to military bases in Alaska. It is in this same type of context, but as a humanitarian effort not for war, that I argue that the State, Federal and Tribal governments to coordinate such an ambitious project. The Tribes have considerable human resources just as the military did when they built the Alcan Highway.
We need our own Rural Alaska 'Recovery and Reinvestment Act'. Think of State and Federal savings when spending tax dollars on Rural areas. Think of reversing the outmigration of the villages. Think of bringing educated natives home. Think of tourists. Think of a new Alaska where we can all be called equal regardless of where we live. Think of your fellow Alaskans and your fellow Americans.

No comments: