Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Highway Expansion

Transport Bill Earmark to Help Road Project in Palin’s Hometown

Sarah Palin is no longer the governor of Alaska, but a project long championed by the 2008 vice-presidential nominee -- and staunch earmark critic -- stands to benefit from an earmark inserted into the transportation spending bill that cleared Congress over the weekend.

625_araup_11.1235152104.standalone.prod_affiliate.7.jpgSarah Palin, then Alaska governor, with husband Todd at the Wasilla, AK, airport. (Photo: ADN.com)

Among the bill's $4 billion-plus in earmarks was $500,000 for an apron expansion at the airport in Wasilla, the Alaska town that Palin led for six years and still calls home. The earmark, requested by Rep. Don Young (R-AK), is one of 75 that lawmakers directed to airport construction projects.

The airport was a mayoral priority for Palin, who won federal money to help pave its runway in 1999. But Alaska budget documents [PDF] describe the Wasilla apron expansion as a necessary piece of the puzzle to help the town build a new road connecting the airport with an elaborate sports complex that Palin made a personal goal, sparking a property dispute that lingered even after her resignation in July.

The new airport road "is waiting for the construction of the aprons over the next three years before the road can be completed due to large excavations," according to the state budget plan. When built, the road is projected to cut the travel distance from downtown Wasilla by just 3 miles.

To put the Alaska earmark in perspective, cash-strapped streetcar planners in Charlotte, NC, also got $500,000 in the 2010 transportation spending bill, as did Fort Lauderdale's downtown circulator buses.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Back the Bikes

Setting aside the fact that bike lanes don't make traffic worse, resisting bikelash on busy roads is essential to creating a useable network.

April 18, 2025

Does Driver’s Ed Really Make Roads Safer? 

States like Georgia are taking a critical look at their drivers education programs — but some say the whole concept of driver's ed deserves scrutiny.

April 18, 2025

Friday Video: Ken Jennings Has a Web Series About Transit!

Jeopardy's host and most famous player is a big fan of the bus — and he's helping educate his fellow Washingtonians about why they should be, too.

April 18, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: The Pacific Circuit

Alexis Madrigal connects containerization to globalization and its direct impacts on one Oakland neighborhood.

April 17, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Wonder Why

Why are drivers killing so many pedestrians? Governing magazine has a number of familiar theories.

April 17, 2025
See all posts