Gravina Island

Map showing location of Gravina Island

Gravina Island is an island in the Gravina Islands of the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska, at 55°15′N, 131°45′W. It is 32 km (20 miles) long and 5-15 km (3-9 miles) wide, and had a population of 50 persons at the 2000 census. Its land area is 245.55 km² (94.806 sq mi).

Ketchikan International Airport is located on Gravina Island across the Tongass Narrows (1/2 mile) from Ketchikan and is reached by a ferry service which takes between three and seven minutes and runs at least every half-hour.

In August 2005 the 2005 Highway Bill provided for $223m to build the Gravina Island Bridge between Gravina Island and nearby Ketchikan. The subsidies were negotiated by Alaska's Rep. Don Young. This bridge had been nicknamed "the Bridge to Nowhere" by its critics. However, in September 2007, Governor Sarah Palin canceled the project after the U.S. federal government withdrew funding for the bridge and transferred the funds to the state to use at their discretion for road projects. ^[1]

References

• Gravina Island: Blocks 1135, 1136, and 1149, Census Tract 1, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska United States Census Bureau

External links

• Salon, 9 August, 2005, "A bridge to nowhere"
• EPA document on the Gravina Island Crossing
• Protect Gravina Island

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