The above-the-fold front page headline in the August 14 Juneau Empire read, “Fast ferries proving to be unreliable.” The story details “…broken down boats disrupting schedules,” saying “some ferry officials are expressing doubts about whether the technologically advanced but delicate fast ferries can be used in the future.”

Constructed in Connecticut, the Fairweather and Chenega began service in 2004. The newest in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet, the ships are powered by undependable, non-standard engines that require custom-made replacement parts from Germany. While the Fairweather has experienced most of the problems so far, according to Captain John Falvey, the Chenega is similarly designed with the same engines and also “has challenges.”

For most of its brief existence and for a variety of reasons, mostly related to seaworthiness, the Fairweather has been tied up. Its absence from Southeast waters has been a source of exasperation and inconvenience for the traveling public. For the dedicated employees of the ferry system, the ferries’ continuing problems are frustrating and demoralizing.

A retired ferry crew member called the fast ferries a "political mistake." I’m sorry, but Tony Knowles, his Chief of Staff, Jim Ayers and their DOT and AMHS brass were way too smart, collectively, to make this particular multi-million dollar mistake. They knew that fast-ferry technology was new and untested and that British Columbia’s fast-ferry experiment was failing miserably. They didn’t care. Buying new ships meant trips down south and junkets to Germany, and besides, there was this pesky road project that needed to be sunk so they concocted a scheme to scuttle it.

The Draft EIS for the Juneau Access project had been rat-holed for two years. The $5 million study had examined four ferry configurations, two road alignments and a “do nothing” alternative. Finally, in February 2000, ADOT&PF Commissioner Joe Perkins sent a letter to the Federal Highway Administration announcing that the department and the Governor had adopted the east Lynn Canal highway alternative as the “preferred alternative” for northern Lynn Canal. That same letter also declared that the highway was too expensive “at this time” so the state was suspending further work on the EIS for Juneau access.

On February 22, 2000, Perkins announced the preferred alternative at a House Transportation Committee meeting chaired by Rep. Andrew Halcro. At the same meeting Perkins requested funds to construct two “fast ferries.” These ships were not among the seven NEPA-identified alternatives evaluated in the $5 million process nor were they ever studied or recommended by his professional staff or consultants. When asked about the highway, the hapless but obedient political appointee said the road was a long way off, a position that allowed them to clear the deck and embark on the ferry fiasco.

Fast ferries, they said, were a quick fix: a “cutting edge” and inexpensive way to address transportation in the region. So not only was it not a rational, process-driven decision that anchored the state with these expensive failures, the fact is, there was no scrutiny or process whatsoever – just political expediency.

In meetings and “My Turns” some of us, including former Juneau Mayor Jamie Parsons, raised the red flag, warning that without a vessel suitability study and economic analysis the “toy ferry” experiment would likely flop. We were dismissed and those responsible for the mess have moved on, not that they would ever have been held accountable anyway.

The cost of repairs and lost revenue resulting from this deliberate and arrogant boondoggle has been significant, if not staggering. We’ll probably never know exactly what those ships have cost Alaskans. The ferry system already costs $130 million to operate annually and $80 million of it is paid by a state subsidy.

Before the marine highway asks for another pot of public money to purchase new ships, it might make sense to remember that the ferry system accommodates less than 1 percent of the total traffic transported in Alaska. It costs $75 million to transport the remaining 99 percent of the traffic so it’s difficult to reach any other conclusion than the only sensible solution to our transportation problems is to extend roads where possible and shorten ferry runs.

The Knowles crew ignored their own fact-based process; the press gave them a pass and nine years later we’re becalmed - with boats that don’t run and bills that don’t end. There is no limit to the amount of bad policy you can inflict and public money you can waste when decisions are driven purely by political agendas.