Senate committee hears bill to allow Anchorage to maintain Canyon Road into Chugach State Park; bill set aside for later consideration

Senate Bill 47, sponsored by Sen. Kathy Giesel, would authorize easements through Chugach State Park to let the Municipality of Anchorage take over maintenance of short sections of Canyon Road that cross parkland and connect to the popular Rabbit Lake trailhead.

Giesel told the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb. 4 that Chugach State Park covers nearly 500,000 acres and receives about 1.5 million visitors annually. The bill is intended to allow the municipality to provide continuous road maintenance and infrastructure upgrades to improve access and safety for hikers and tourists, and to provide a better emergency egress route should a wildfire threaten the hillside.

Giesel said Anchorage voters approved a $4 million bond in 2024 to upgrade about 0.6 miles of Canyon Road, but portions of the 0.6 miles fall within state park land. "If the state could grant an easement on those sections, that would make the bond sale possible," said Roger Marks, a member of the Glen Alps Road Service Area board, who testified in support of the bill. Marks described existing maintenance arrangements and said the municipality currently performs maintenance in practice but lacks the legal easement to bond for park segments.

Giesel cited Alaska Statute 41.21.122, which assigns responsibility for repair and maintenance of existing public roads within the park to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The sponsor and testifier said DOT has not been maintaining the short park segments in practice, and the proposed easement would allow the municipality to assume responsibility and proceed with funded upgrades and ongoing maintenance.

Financial and local details cited in testimony include: - Anchorage voters approved a $4,000,000 bond in 2024 to improve a 0.6-mile stretch of Canyon Road leading to Rabbit Lake. - Chugach State Park fee station revenues were cited at nearly $600,000 per year; the Glen Alps fee station alone was cited as generating $117,000 annually. - Testimony estimated about four houses lie in the municipal section adjacent to the park. - DOT provided a fiscal note the sponsor read as $30,000 per year starting in fiscal 2026 for easement adjudication, title and survey work; the sponsor said she would follow up with DOT to clarify why the cost recurs annually.

Roger Marks described road service areas on the hillside and said the local Anchorage governance structure historically limited municipal bonding for hillside roads; the new Chugach State Park Access Service Area (CASA) was created to allow broader financing for park access. Marks said without easement authority, the municipality cannot include park segments in bond-funded capital upgrades.

Committee members asked questions about precedent for the state granting easements and whether DOT would be asked to cede maintenance responsibilities in other locales. Marks and Giesel said the municipality already maintains the short segment and that formal easement would align legal ownership with the practical maintenance arrangement and allow the bond to proceed.

The committee did not vote on SB 47. Chair Bjorkman said, "we will set Senate Bill 47 aside for further consideration at a future meeting," and the clerk recorded the item for later consideration.

Ending: The committee placed SB 47 on hold for further consideration; the sponsor intends to follow up with DOT about the fiscal note and said municipal fee revenue should help offset easement costs.