According to this article in the Christian Science Monitor...

"In the political parlaying, critics claim that Alaska - large in land, small in citizen numbers, and fifth in transportation dollars - wields disproportionate clout. This year, it could win twice as much highway money as New Jersey. Beyond transportation, Alaska receives seven federal dollars for each tax dollar sent to the US Treasury."


This is kind of interesting, too, from the same article...

"One impetus, rarely mentioned, is that the bridge would create an easy route for timber companies to log Pacific rain forest."


http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0615/p02s01-uspo.html


The stuff in the blog was copy pasted by the blogger from The New Republic


In this part...

"The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."

...what she is saying is that the Alaska congressional delegation can help Alaska get a lot of money from the US taxpayers, so the state of Alaska better do everything it can to help get the bridges built before the window of opportunity closes on the more than a billion (total costs) dollars that the congressional delegation was working hard to pry loose from the US taxpayers for the two bridges in question.