Alaska’s transportation system is the kind of thing most people don’t think about until it stops working. But for those of us who work in construction, it is part of daily life.
On the Kenai Peninsula, roads and bridges are not abstract infrastructure. They are the difference between getting concrete to a jobsite on time or sitting idle. They are how families get to work, kids get to school, emergency responders reach people on time, and businesses keep their doors open year-round. When ferry terminals, airports, and highways are maintained, it keeps rural communities connected and the whole state moving.
Keeping that system strong takes long-term planning and follow-through. Right now, Alaska has a clear opportunity to do both.
Federal transportation programs provide Alaska with formula-based funding every year. But to access those dollars, the state must provide a match, usually around 10%. When Alaska meets that obligation, we get access to roughly nine times as much in federal funding for transportation projects statewide. It is a system Alaska has relied on for decades to build and maintain our infrastructure, and it works.
The governor’s proposed budget includes a $70 million supplemental appropriation using unrestricted general funds to meet the federal fiscal year 2026 match. That state investment would enable about $700 million in total transportation funding to flow through Alaska’s economy. To me, that is not political. It is practical.
Because the math is simple. If you put in a little and get a lot back, you do not walk away from the deal.
Here is how I explain it to people who are not in construction. If an employer told you they would deposit $9,000 into your retirement account for every $1,000 you contributed, you would not hesitate. You would do everything you could to max out that contribution. That is basically what Alaska is being offered, except instead of growing a retirement account, we are investing in the roads, bridges, airports, and safety improvements we depend on.
I am writing this from the Kenai Peninsula, where I serve as vice president at Davis Block and Concrete. I have spent my career in the trades and construction world. I have seen what happens when projects get funded on time, and I have seen what happens when they do not.
When funding is predictable, everything works better. Contractors can plan. Workers can count on steady paychecks. Suppliers can schedule deliveries and keep inventory moving. Communities can count on improvements happening when they are supposed to, not years later after costs have risen and the need has gotten worse.
Construction is one of Alaska’s economic cornerstones, supporting more than 41,000 jobs statewide. Those paychecks do not sit in accounts. They are spent at local grocery stores, fuel stations, hardware stores, restaurants, and small businesses in every region of the state. On the Peninsula, that ripple effect matters.
Timing is critical. Alaska is already halfway through the fiscal year. While there is still time to act, delays increase the risk that projects and individual workers will miss the 2026 construction season.
If the legislature does not move quickly to pass this funding, it could mean agencies are not able to turn the money around fast enough to get any meaningful work on the street this summer. And in our industry, timing is everything. Once the season is lost, it is not easily made up. This is an unprecedented situation our state is facing right now. Inaction or delay will have devastating impacts on our economy and our industry. We cannot afford to let that happen when the solution is clear and the consequences of waiting are so serious.
As lawmakers return to Juneau here soon, they have a responsibility to act quickly and provide certainty. The sooner Alaska secures the match, the sooner communities can realize the benefits.
Match funding is a promise to Alaska’s future. It is a promise that we will work together and follow through for the people who depend on this infrastructure every day, including the people who build it.
A lifelong Alaskan, Regina Davis is a vice president at Davis Block & Concrete and serves on the board of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska.
