“I’ve said we need at least $1 trillion for highways, bridges, airports, and ports and the whole bit,” Congressman Young was quoted recently. “We need that, because we’re so far behind.”
Senator Murkowski seems supportive as well. “I told anybody who listen that when it comes to infrastructure, you have to remember that it’s not just infrastructure on land. It’s also infrastructure on water. So it’s your ports. It’s your harbors. But also, for many parts of our state, the highway is our waterway.”
When she talks to cabinet members about infrastructure, Murkowski talks about saving Alaska’s ferry system. She’s floating the idea of electric-powered ferries for the smaller vessels of the Alaska Marine Highway System. Since the Biden administration is so keen on electrical vehicles, Murkowski says the idea should appeal.
And, if our delegation were to shift their gaze south to British Columbia, they would see a ferry system in full transition. BC is deep into the conversion of its ferry fleet. Nearly 40 boats large, BC plans to have one-third of the fleet either fully electrified or electric-diesel hybrid ferries by 2022.
All the details can be found HERE is this great article about the BC ferry fleet.
The ferry corporation wants to modify the existing six Island Class vessels from hybrid diesel-electric to full battery-electric operations. In addition to the vessel changes, it would modify nine terminal facilities, adding rapid plug-in charging systems. This would turn BC Ferries into “one of the most environmentally sustainable ferry operations in the world,” reads a backgrounder on the proposal.
And, just to the north in southeast Alaska…