By Laura McGann and Paul Kiel
TPM Muckraker

Recently, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) appeared in the news for purchasing property on the Kenai River at far below market value last year from Alaska businessman Bob Penney. It turns out, the plot is nearby one of her more notable earmarks: a three-mile stretch of road that abuts the property of about 50 residents, for which Murkowski has secured $6 million in federal funds since 2003.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) rounded up an extra $2 million for the three-mile road project, which is just under half mile from Murkowski’s plot, which she sold back to Penney in the wake of the controversy. And even that’s not all. To cover matching costs required by some of the federal money, Murkowski’s father, then-Gov. Frank Murkowksi ponied up another $325,000 in state funds. It’s unclear whether the project, construction for which is set to begin next year, will boost the value of the land.

Local residents initiated what they coined the Keystone Drive Project back in 2002. The 3-mile road leads to the National Kenai Wildlife Refuge, passing some 50 residents, one of whom is retired NBA star Karl Malone. The locals were fed up with the influx of tourists on their gravel road during the last two weeks in July, when nature enthusiasts come to fish, camp and visit the refuge. So, they rallied neighborhood support and first took their case to the local government. When that didn’t pan out, they pressed on to their federal representatives in Washington.

Keystone Drive resident Jane Madison, who spearheaded the effort, said a group of neighbors flew to Washington to take their case directly to the delegation in 2002. They had meetings with all three offices, and then, serendipitously, they sat in front of Murkowski on the flight back home.

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