(a) The legislature finds and declares that there is an immediate need for a public highway from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean and that this public highway should be constructed by the State of Alaska at this time because

(1) it will assist in the fulfillment of art. VIII, Sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, in which it is provided that it is the policy of the state to encourage the settlement of its land and the development of its resources by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest;

(2) it will provide the first year-round, overland route from north of the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean, and will consequently result in the completion of a highway from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean;

(3) it is in conformity with the policy of 23 U.S.C. 101(b) (Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956), in which it is declared to be in the national interest to accelerate the construction of certain highways which are of primary importance to the national defense;

(4) it will benefit local and interstate commerce because the area north of the Yukon River is rich in natural resources but is inaccessible at the present time because of the lack of roads and this inaccessibility prohibits the successful use of the natural resources of this area;

(5) it is consonant with art. VIII, Sec. 2, Constitution of the State of Alaska, in which it is provided that the legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the state, including land and water, for the maximum benefit of its people, because the highway will benefit not only local and interstate commerce but will also augment the revenue of the state and result in conservation of natural resources, for example, by facilitating a system of wildland fire suppression.

(b) It is the sense of the legislature that the construction of the highway will not impair the natural wilderness adjacent to the highway and will not unreasonably interfere with subsistence hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering.

(c) It is the intent of the legislature that the state shall be reimbursed for the cost plus interest of constructing the public highway from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean.

(d) It is the intent of the legislature that employment of Alaska residents be encouraged and that the provisions of AS 36.10 be complied with.