AS Title 19, Chapter 40: James Dalton Highway

Chapter 40. James Dalton Highway. Sec. 19.40.010. Declaration of policy. (a) The legislature finds and declares that there is an immediate need for a public highway from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean and that this public highway should be constructed by the State of Alaska at this time because (1) it will assist in the fulfillment of art. VIII, Sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, in which it is provided that it is the policy of the state to encourage the settlement of its land and the development of its resources by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest; (2) it will provide the first year-round, overland route from north of the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean, and will consequently result in the completion of a highway from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean; (3) it is in conformity with the policy of 23 U.S.C. 101(b) (Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956), in which it is declared to be in the national interest to accelerate the construction of certain highways which are of primary importance to the national defense; (4) it will benefit local and interstate commerce because the area north of the Yukon River is rich in natural resources but is inaccessible at the present time because of the lack of roads and this inaccessibility prohibits the successful use of the natural resources of this area; (5) it is consonant with art. VIII, Sec. 2, Constitution of the State of Alaska, in which it is provided that the legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the state, including land and water, for the maximum benefit of its people, because the highway will benefit not only local and interstate commerce but will also augment the revenue of the state and result in conservation of natural resources, for example, by facilitating a system of wildland fire suppression. (b) It is the sense of the legislature that the construction of the highway will not impair the natural wilderness adjacent to the highway and will not unreasonably interfere with subsistence hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering. (c) It is the intent of the legislature that the state shall be reimbursed for the cost plus interest of constructing the public highway from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean. (d) It is the intent of the legislature that employment of Alaska residents be encouraged and that the provisions of AS 36.10 be complied with. Sec. 19.40.015. Highway named. The highway is named the James Dalton Highway. Sec. 19.40.020. Contractual authority. (a) Subject to (b) of this section, the department may contract in accordance with AS 36.30 for the construction of a secondary highway from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean. The provisions of AS 36.10 govern in employment practices on all work authorized by this chapter. (b) The authority granted under (a) of this section may not be exercised until the state enters into a contract with the participants in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System or other organization formed for the purpose of transporting oil by pipeline from the North Slope (that area of Alaska lying north of 68 degrees latitude). The contract shall provide for reimbursement to the state by the participants, jointly and severally, in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System or other organization formed for the purpose of transporting oil by pipeline, of the full amount of the highway's cost of construction plus interest on the state's expenditures at the rate of seven and one-half percent per year. Complete reimbursement together with interest shall be made within five years from the date of the contract. The state may, with the agreement of the participants, elect to construct an oil pipeline from the North Slope. In that event, the provisions of this subsection requiring reimbursement do not apply. (c) The contract with the participants must include additional terms and conditions that are in the best interests of the state. Any advance payments made under the contract shall be deposited in a special account which will be used for disbursements to the contractor charged with construction of the highway. Disbursements to the contractor shall be made on order of the commissioner of transportation and public facilities on presentation of a proper voucher or the presentation of a voucher by an employee of the department authorized in writing to certify as to such payment. Sec. 19.40.030. Undertakings of contractors. The department, in place of the bonds or individual sureties required by AS 36.25.010 , may accept corporate undertakings that include the same essential provisions of the bonds or individual sureties required by AS 36.25.010 and that are satisfactory to the department. Sec. 19.40.040. Exemption. The Alaska Net Income Tax Act and the Alaska Business License Act do not apply to any money received by the general contractor from the state under a highway construction contract authorized under this chapter if the money is to be paid to a subcontractor for work performed under the construction contract. The money received by the subcontractors is subject to the Alaska Net Income Tax Act, the Alaska Business License Act, and any other applicable state taxes. Sec. 19.40.050. Highway width. In accordance with AS 19.10.015 , the width of this highway is designated as 200 feet. Sec. 19.40.060. Conditions to be met. Construction authorized under AS 19.40.020 — 19.40.050 may not be undertaken until all of the following conditions are met: (1) certification by the commissioners of natural resources and fish and game that adequate precautions have been taken to protect and preserve the total ecology of the area traversed; (2) certification by the commissioner of transportation and public facilities that the road design and construction methods will cause minimal landscape defacement or environmental degradation by erosion or waste disposal; (3) certification by the commissioner of health that adequate and reasonable precautions have been taken for the prevention of pollution during construction and subsequent public use; (4) all certifications, as well as the regulations, contract provisions, specifications, inspection procedures, and programs necessary to implement and accomplish AS 19.40.020 — 19.40.050 shall be filed with the governor's office and published; (5) the governor has approved all certifications and supporting material submitted under (4) of this section as being in the best public interest, and has certified that the contract required by AS 19.40.020 has been executed. Sec. 19.40.065. Regulations and penalties. All departments and agencies of the state are given the specific authority to adopt under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) emergency, temporary, and permanent regulations necessary to accomplish the purposes of AS 19.40.020 — 19.40.050. The violation of any regulation adopted under AS 19.40.020 — 19.40.050 is a misdemeanor and upon conviction the person is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 for each offense. Sec. 19.40.070. Conflict with other laws. In the event of a conflict between this chapter and any other law of this state, the provisions of this chapter govern and supersede any such other law. Sec. 19.40.080. [Renumbered as AS 19.40.290 .] Renumbered as AS 19.40.290 . Renumbered as AS 19.40.290 . Sec. 19.40.100. Use of the highway by industrial or commercial traffic. (a) The department shall maintain the highway and keep it open to industrial or commercial traffic throughout the year. (b) In this section “industrial or commercial traffic” means (1) travel necessary and related to resource exploration and development or to support of those activities, if the individual engaged in those activities has all necessary permits; (2) travel necessary and related to access by local residents to their property; or (3) motor carriers engaged in commerce. Sec. 19.40.110. Public use of a portion of the highway. The department shall maintain the section of the highway between the Yukon River and Dietrich Camp and shall keep that section of the highway open to use by the public between June 1 and September 1 each year. Sec. 19.40.120. Closure of the highway to traffic. The provisions of AS 19.10.100 apply to the closure of the highway by the department. Sec. 19.40.200. Disposal of land or materials. (a) The state may not dispose of state land under AS 38 which is within five miles of the right-of-way of the highway. (b) The prohibition on disposal of state land under (a) of this section does not apply to a disposal (1) to a licensed public utility or a licensed common carrier under AS 38.05.810 (e); (2) for the reauthorization of leases that were in effect on January 1, 1994, for nonresidential purposes within the following development nodes: (A) Coldfoot: Township 28 North, Range 12 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 3 — 4 Sections 9 — 10 Sections 15 — 16 Sections 20 — 22 (B) Yukon River Crossing: Township 12 North, Range 10 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 6 — 7 Township 12 North, Range 11 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 1 — 2 Section 12 Township 13 North, Range 10 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 29 — 32 Township 13 North, Range 11 West, Fairbanks Meridian Section 22 Sections 25 — 27 Sections 34 — 36 (3) for nonresidential development within the following development nodes: (A) Deadhorse: Township 10 North, Range 14 East, Umiat Meridian Township 10 North, Range 15 East, Umiat Meridian Section 8 Sections 17 — 20 Section 30 (B) Coldfoot: Township 28 North, Range 12 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 3 — 4 Sections 9 — 10 Sections 15 — 16 Sections 20 — 22 Township 29 North, Range 12 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 23 — 27 Sections 34 — 35 (C) Franklin Bluffs: Township 4 North, Range 14 East, Umiat Meridian Sections 3 — 4 Sections 9 — 10 Sections 15 — 16 (D) Happy Valley: Township 3 South, Range 14 East, Umiat Meridian Sections 19 — 20 Sections 29 — 30 (E) Yukon River Crossing: Township 12 North, Range 10 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 6 — 7 Township 12 North, Range 11 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 1 — 2 Section 12 Township 13 North, Range 10 West, Fairbanks Meridian Sections 29 — 32 Township 13 North, Range 11 West, Fairbanks Meridian Section 22 Section 25 — 27 Section 34 — 36; or (4) necessary for (A) an oil and gas lease or gas only lease under AS 38.05.180 ; (B) exploration, development, production, or transportation of oil and gas north of 68 degrees north latitude; (C) a state lease or materials sale for (i) exploration, development, production, or transportation of oil or gas; (ii) reconstruction or maintenance of state highways; or (iii) construction or maintenance of airports; or (D) access to land described in AS 19.40.210 (d) on either side of the corridor. (c) Before the sale of materials under (b)(4)(C) of this section to a private entity or person or to a state agency the state shall give due consideration to the availability of materials from private sources in the area where the materials are needed. (d) Notwithstanding another provision of law, when the department determines and orders that a utility facility located across, along, over, under, or within the highway right-of-way must be changed, relocated, or removed, the licensed public utility owning or maintaining the facility shall change, relocate, or remove it in accordance with the order and is responsible for the cost of the change, relocation, or removal. (e) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, land described in (b) of this section is not available for disposal if it has been selected by a municipality to satisfy a general grant land entitlement under AS 29.65 unless the selection is disapproved by the state in a final decision. Sec. 19.40.210. Prohibition of off-road vehicles. (a) Off-road vehicles are prohibited on land within the highway corridor. However, this prohibition does not apply to (1) off-road vehicles necessary for oil and gas exploration, development, production, or transportation; (2) a person who holds a mining claim in the vicinity of the highway and who must use land in the highway corridor to gain access to the mining claim; (3) the use of a snow machine to travel across the highway corridor from land outside the corridor to access land outside the other side of the corridor; this paragraph does not permit the use of a snow machine for any purpose within the corridor if the use begins or ends within the corridor or within the right-of-way of the highway or if the use is for travel within the corridor that is parallel to the right-of-way of the highway; or (4) a person who must use land in the highway corridor to gain access to private property that (A) is located outside the corridor; and (B) has an established history of use as a homestead. (b) Nothing in this section authorizes a person to access the land of another person unlawfully. (c) The commissioner of transportation and public facilities may authorize facilities and access roads in the highway right-of-way and the commissioner of natural resources may authorize easements on state land within the corridor from the E. L. Patton Bridge north to the southern boundary of the North Slope Borough to facilitate access under (a)(1) — (4) of this section and to provide motorized access to (1) adjacent federal land; (2) Native allotments; and (3) land conveyed to and held by Alaska Native corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. (d) Nothing in this section affects the validity of regulations adopted by the Board of Game under AS 16.05.255 relating to hunt qualifications or the permissible means of accessing certain hunting opportunities. (e) In this section, “highway corridor” or “corridor” means land within five miles of the right-of-way of the highway. Sec. 19.40.290. Definition. In this chapter, “highway” means the secondary highway from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean.