The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) and the Municipality of Skagway recently signed an agreement to develop new marine facilities for the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) and commercial and private marine businesses.
The project aligns with DOT&PF’s Charting the Course Initiative. As part of the AMHS recovery plan, the initiative supports the long-term health of Alaska coastal communities.
The area considered for development is on Ore Peninsula. Plans consist of a terminal building, a vehicle staging area, an AMHS ferry berth, parking, and associated facilities. The facilities would replace Skagway’s aging dock, threatened by ongoing cliff erosion, and allow the community to pursue commercial and recreational marine traffic.
The city’s economy relies on its port, which has seen increased commercial and recreational marine vessel traffic in recent years.
“Pursuing port improvements for Alaska’s coastal communities is critically important to AMHS’s long-term success,” DOT Commissioner Ryan Anderson said. “This project moves us closer to the goal that our vessels can be used interchangeably throughout our AMHS network.”
The agreement includes preliminary design and engineering as well as a feasibility analysis.
DOT&PF oversees nine ferries, 237 airports, 839 public facilities, and more than 5,600 miles of highway.