Veronica PiscitelliThe Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) unveiled plans on March 4 to launch a new feasibility study in the upper Lynn Canal. The agency wants to investigate the construction of a road and other infrastructure that it says could create more cost-effective and reliable transportation in the area.
The proposal to build a road between Juneau, Alaska, and the communities of Haines and Skagway could help provide residents with a reliable way to get to Juneau and back in one day, a journey that is currently only accessible by boat or airplane. DOT&PF spokesperson Sam Dapcevich says the reduced demand for the mainliner ferries in the area, with the building of a road, could also free up services for other communities in southeast Alaska.
Other studies and proposals have been attempted in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, but none were put into action. Contrary to the other studies, this proposal will focus on the west side of Lynn Canal, where the terrain is less avalanche-prone than the east side and opens more of Haines to recreation. Construction and maintenance of the road would be expensive, with two main concepts to be considered, both requiring the construction of other infrastructure.
The first option for a route of the road would require a new ferry across Lynn Canal near Juneau and a bridge to be built across the Chilkat River near Haines. The second would extend the new road by about 25 miles past Haines where it would connect with Chilkat Lake Road near Mosquito Lake. This option would require a bridge to be constructed across the Tsirku River.
Alaska is accepting bids through March 25 from consulting firms interested in conducting the study, which is due at the end of the year. The state plans to pay the selected firm at least $1 million for the study’s completion.
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