Gravina Island Bridge

Gravina Island Bridge
Crosses	Inside Passage
Other name(s)	The Bridge to Nowhere
History
Construction begin	Never constructed
Construction cost	Estimated budget of $398 million

The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, with Gravina Island, an island that contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was projected to cost $398 million. Members of the Alaskan congressional delegation, particularly Representative Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens, were the bridge's biggest advocates in Congress, and helped push for federal funding. The project encountered fierce opposition outside Alaska as a symbol of pork barrel spending and is labeled as one of the more prominent "bridges to nowhere". As a result, Congress removed the federal earmark for the bridge in 2005. Funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere" has continued as of March 2, 2011, in the passing of H.R. 662: Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011 by the House of Representatives.

According to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, the project's goal was to "provide better service to the airport and allow for development of large tracts of land on the island".

A ferry runs to the island every 30 minutes, and every 15 minutes during the May–September peak tourist season. It charges $6 per adult, with free same-day return, and $7 per automobile each way (as of 2015^[update]).

According to USA Today, the bridge was to have been nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge which is 8,981 ft (2,737.4 m) long, and "higher than the Brooklyn Bridge." The bridge would cross the Tongass Narrows, part of Alaska's Inside Passage, so the bridge was designed to be tall enough to accommodate ship traffic, including the Alaska Marine Highway and the cruise ships that frequent Alaskan waters during the summer.

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