The Alaska Department of Transportation’s $28.5 million Cascade Point ferry terminal project received harsh criticism during House Transportation Committee meetings on Feb. 10 and 12, as speakers pointed toward a public survey demonstrating overwhelming opposition.
A DOT survey with 622 respondents found that 92% opposed construction of the new terminal 30 miles north of Auke Bay. Many commenters suggested the nearby Canadian mining project, New Amalga gold mine, stands to benefit from the project, instead of the public.
“I’m trying to find who supports this project that’s not the industries that would directly benefit from it and I am struggling to do that,” Rep. Ashley Carrick, D. Fairbanks, co-chair House Transportation Committee, said.
The Dunleavy administration signed a $28.5 million contract on July 28 to begin construction of the terminal. This covers about one-fifth of the estimated total cost, according to DOT Southeast Region Director Christopher Goins.
Construction of a road to the terminal will begin this summer, when the ferry system itself is expected to shut down due to lack of funds.
“Of the people that spoke to Cascade Point, the majority of them spoke to it because they want closer transportation to the mine that is owned by Canadians,” Rep. Louise Stutes, R. Kodiak, said of the survey at the committee meeting. “We’re facilitating the mine and we’re forgetting about all of the people that have said we don’t want to.”
The DOT did not publish the results of the survey for nearly a month, until a reporter requested them. Goins explained the results of the survey by suggesting the public is misinformed about the project and that the public fears something new, the Juneau Independent reported on Feb. 11.
The new terminal is expected to cut two hours off the round-trip ferry ride from Juneau to Haines and Skagway, but will require more travel to and from the terminal in Cascade Point. Goldbelt Native Corporation has committed to running a bus service to the terminal from downtown Juneau, without saying what they would charge.
Goldbelt owns the land at Cascade Point and is working with Grande Portage Resources Ltd. to design an ore barge dock in the same location as the terminal. Grand Portage is the Canadian company that owns the New Amalga gold mine by Cascade Point, which has prompted public speculation into the Dunleavy administration’s motivation behind the new ferry terminal.
Both the Haines and Skagway assemblies wrote letters criticizing the terminal to Dunleavy in the summer of 2025 and Juneau Assembly Member Maureen Hall wrote a comment objecting to the terminal, although the Juneau Assembly took no official stance, reported KTOO on Feb 4.
“I oppose the use of public funds to construct a remote State of Alaska ferry terminal when the facility’s apparent primary purpose is to function as an ore dock for private industry,” Hall wrote. “This represents a blatant misuse of public resources and raises serious concerns about the appropriateness and legality of such expenditure.”
