Kevin McCabe: Let’s get back to building great big durable things in Alaska

By REP. KEVIN MCCABE

America was not built by people chasing quick profits. Great big things were built by men and women who understood that if something was worth doing in this country and especially in this state, it was worth doing right and worth doing to last. They understood they were building cathedrals for their children, not chasing the instant gratification of short-term returns.

Decades ago, Alvin Toffler warned of a “throw-away society,” one that values speed and convenience over durability and responsibility. Around the same time, Dr. James Massey warned that our culture was being conditioned to expect instant gratification, where anything requiring patience, discipline, or long effort would be dismissed as obsolete. They were right. Too much of our modern decision-making is driven by short-term gains instead of long-term opportunity, and Alaska is not immune to that thinking.

You can see it in infrastructure that was built to open the state and support generations of Alaskans. The Alaska Railroad is a good example. It was engineered to survive permafrost, avalanches, and isolation. For more than a century it has hauled freight, supported mining and energy development, and connected communities across vast distances.

Today, too much of its focus has shifted toward seasonal tourism. Tourism is no doubt a crucial resource for Alaska. Cruise passengers bring fast revenue, but the often-fickle nature of tourism does not build a durable economy. Anchor tenants that come and go with the summer do not create generational wealth. A railroad that once opened the interior should be realigned toward responsible resource development, transporting timber, minerals, and energy, creating year-round jobs and lasting value for Alaskans.

The same lesson applies to our roads. Alaska’s size and climate demand infrastructure built to endure, not patched together to survive the next budget cycle. The Alaska Highway, built in 1942 as a wartime necessity, was strengthened over decades into a reliable trade and defense corridor that still serves us today. That is what long-term thinking looks like. That thinking should guide bigger infrastructure decisions for the High Arctic and across the state.

Projects like the Ambler Road and the West Susitna Access Road reflect that same opportunity when done right. The Ambler Road would connect the Dalton Highway to a major mining district rich in copper and critical minerals, providing access that can support responsible development for decades. The West Susitna Access Road, with permanent bridges over major waterways, would open vast state lands for recreation and future development while supporting year-round economic activity.

The Alberta to Alaska Rail, or A2A, is a conceptual proposed link that would connect Alaska to Canada and the Lower 48, creating a durable trade corridor for resources and freight. These projects show what is possible when we focus on lasting value rather than short-term headlines. These are not vanity projects. They are investments in access, reliability, and opportunity for our children.

Too often today, infrastructure is designed around short service lives and constant maintenance. Roads are built knowing they will fail after a few harsh winters. Bridges are designed for repeated repair cycles. This creates temporary jobs fixing the same problems over and over instead of making one serious investment in resilient construction that saves money and serves communities for generations. Alaska should lead in permafrost-resistant foundations, durable materials, and engineering that anticipates future freight, new technology, and long-term development. We should build infrastructure meant to serve not just today’s traffic, but tomorrow’s economy.

Our short-term mindset shows up in policy as well. We chase fast money on two-year legislative cycles and cater to seasonal industries while neglecting the infrastructure residents depend on long after the tourists leave. Coastal development bends to cruise schedules while communities absorb the strain and long-term costs. The result is economic volatility, premature failure, and future Alaskans left holding the bill.

We can choose a different path. Federal infrastructure funding and tax credits are tools that should be used for projects that last, not projects that look good in a press release. The Alaska Railroad should be modernized to move resources farther and do it efficiently and responsibly. Roads like Ambler and West Susitna should be built to endure decades of heavy use. We should encourage resilient repair over replacement, durability over disposability, and responsible development over fast returns.

Alaska’s history proves what we are capable of. From early trails to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, we have built great big things that outlasted their builders because they were designed with the future in mind. If we want prosperity that endures, we have to reject the throw-away mentality and return to long-term thinking.

In America, and especially in the Last Frontier, we should be building for generations, not headlines. Railroads that support development. Roads that endure. Infrastructure worthy of Alaska and the people who will inherit it.

Rep. Kevin McCabe is an Alaska legislator representing District 30, Big Lake. He has lived in Alaska for 43 years, served in the US Coast Guard, as a Boeing 747 captain, and was a volunteer firefighter.

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