2009-06-22 06:21:43 - The Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin just never seems to give up chasing bridges to nowhere.

In her latest spat with the late night talk host David Letterman it seems that Sarah Palin just can’t quit on chasing ‘bridges to nowhere’. Letterman freely admits he, “Told a joke that was beyond flawed", and was happy to invite Palin to appear as a guest on his show. Palin flatly refused the invitation.

Protestors who back Palin, are

continuing to demand that Letterman should be fired. Palin has accepted Letterman’s apology, but that didn’t stop the verbal barrage. Letterman’s ratings have soared, since media attention has been turned on the argument. Is this another of Palin’s bridges to nowhere?

Gravina Island Bridge is Palin’s most famous ‘bridge to nowhere’. It was proposed to replace the ferry service which connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, (population 8,900) with its international airport on Gravina Island, (population 50 people and 350 Sitka black-tailed deer). The second largest airport in Alaska, Kechikan International Airport handles over 200,000 passengers a year.

Almost as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge, the Bridge to Nowhere was designed to accommodate ship traffic underneath. Encountering fierce opposition outside of Alaska, the project was seen as ‘pork barrel’ spending. It was projected to cost $398 million.

In her campaign for The Governor, in September 2006, Palin declared bridge was essential for the town’s prosperity. Palin claims in August 2007 she formally cancelled the project rescinding $185m state share of the bridge funding. Once Congress had killed the funding for the bridge, $223 million was used on other state ventures. It was Sarah Palin who named it as the ‘bridge to nowhere’.

Palin then proceeded to spend more than $25 million of federal funds, building the Gravina Island Highway. This would have connected with the proposed bridge, because, according to Alaskan state officials, the $25 million would otherwise have had to be returned to the federal government. It has now been called the ‘road to nowhere’ to match the bridge.

"There's no one on this road. It kind of just curves around then it just stops", said CNN reporter, Abbie Bourdreau, who took a helicopter ride over the road. Locals, try desperately not to smile, when they agree that the road was a waste of taxpayer’s money without the bridge.


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