Premier Sandy Silver Calls On United States to Help Fund Shakwak Project

Wednesday, 20 February 2019 16:19

Silver says funding to help with the uptake of the highway connecting Yukon and Alaska is all but gone now.

Sandy Silver says it’s also the United States responsibility to help fund the Shakwak Project, the Alaskan highway connecting mainland Alaska and Yukon.

Silver is currently in Juneau discussing the matter with new Governor Mike Dunleavy and Senator Lisa Murkowski today, and Silver says both parties need work together to obtain US funding to help with the upkeep of the highway.

"In the absence of the United States living up to its funding obligations under the Shackwak Agreement...the northern section of the Alaskan Highway will continue to decline. It'll impact both Alaska and Yukon tourism, the movement of US military equipment and personnel. It's a big deal and the more we can share information and strategies (for funding), the better".

Silver says the deterioration of the highway will ultimately impact more than just transportation between the two countries if funding isn't secured.

"Up to 85% of the traffic is American on this route and the Shackwak Funding is all but gone now. It is the only transportation link to the North Slope oil fields and other resource and development activity in Alaska."

The highway in Yukon helps to knit outlying communities such as Beaver Creek and Watson Lake together and Yukon Highways and Public Works estimates there is roughly $340 million needed to finish upgrading the project.

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