Juneau applies for Army Corps permit to extend downtown seawalk
Published 4:30 am Tuesday, June 16, 2026
The City and Borough of Juneau has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Alaska District, for a Department of the Army permit to conduct work in the waters of Gastineau Channel.
The city proposes to extend the existing seawalk from the Franklin Dock to the AJ Dock in an effort to improve safe, continuous pedestrian access between cruise vessels moored at the AJ Dock and downtown Juneau. The public notice was released by USACE on June 10.
Proposed works include the demolition and permanent removal of several existing waterfront structures, including a 27-foot by 100-foot transfer bridge, a 16-foot by 120-foot dock, a 10-foot by 90-foot moorage float, a five-foot by 75-foot gangway, and a five-foot by 55-foot gangway. Associated mooring dolphins and abandoned piles will also be removed.
The demolished structural components will be salvaged or disposed of at an approved offsite facility, while existing timber piles that break during extraction and cannot be fully removed will be cut off flush at the mudline. The project also involves the permanent removal of 80 existing piles and the installation of 238 new permanent steel pipe piles.
The new construction will consist of a pile-supported pedestrian seawalk located seaward of the Mean High Water Mark, as well as new over-water structures such as a cruise ship mooring dolphin and associated access catwalks. Necessary upland improvements, wayfinding signage, site furnishings, and associated power and lighting systems will also be incorporated.
The application proposed mitigation measures to avoid, minimize, and compensate for impacts to U.S. waters from activities involving discharges of dredged or fill materials. The city proposed no new fill, as existing fill will be removed and replaced on existing armour slopes to accommodate pile installation.
“The applicant has proposed a project design that is consistent with the existing seawalk that the structure would connect to,” USACE stated. “The applicant has also proposed to remove the existing timber pilings and would only install steel pilings, reducing the potential for timber treated leachate.”
Avoidance was not possible as the proposed project is a pile-supported structure dependent on marine access. The city has also not proposed any compensatory mitigation as the project would not result in a loss of waters and impacts would be temporary.
“The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity and its intended use on the public interest,” USACE added.
“Evaluation of the probable impacts, which the proposed activity may have on the public interest, requires a careful weighing of all the factors that become relevant in each particular case.”
Project construction is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2027 and is estimated to be complete by April 1, 2029. The application expires on July 13.
