When the bridge cost estimates went out of sight, it became apparent that the money could be better spent elsewhere; especially if it was a bridge to nowhere. Is that too hard for people to understand? So she said, "No thanks" to the bridge, but "Yes please" to the money. Either way the tax payers were out a quarter billion and Alaska was ahead by the same amount.
Every state gets federal money for infrastructure. Alaska is a state with an unique situation because of the impact of weather on that infrastructure. Building new infrastructure and keeping existing infrastructure repaired is a very costly proposition. Alaska needs the help of federal funding, even with the wealth of oil revenues. At the time, the Gravina Island Bridge was seen as a good idea. You should know that one of Alaska's largest airports, the Ketchican International Airport, is on Gravina Island. The only way to get to that island is by ferry. The ferry runs to the island every 30 minutes during most of the year, except during the May–September peak tourist season, when it runs every 15 minutes. It charges $5 per adult, with free same-day return, and $6 per automobile each way. The ferry transports about 350,000 people a year. People wanted a better way to get to the airport.
So, the “bridge to nowhere” was proposed. It was estimated to cost $398 million. It was not long before Gov. Sarah Palin discovered the $398 million bridge would actually cost $329 million more than originally estimated. It had grown to a costly money pit. This tells me that Governor Palin was wise to put a brake on the project before work had began on it.
Governor Palin was wise to see that Alaska infrastructure had higher priorities and Alaska could get more bang for the buck in other projects. So, federal money that was to go for the bridge, went to the other projects.