The city is partnering with the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition (SAWC) to replace two pedestrian bridges over Jordan Creek, and the new bridges should be ready this week.
According to releases from the City and Borough of Juneau and SAWC, the new bridges are part of a larger partnership between the two to take better care of Jordan Creek. Through grant funding, SAWC purchased the materials being used to build the bridges, and a crew from the city-owned Juneau International Airport is leading the project.
Volunteers from local organizations — the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Tongass chapter of Trout Unlimited and Discovery Southeast — are also helping out. The bridges, built in the 1980s, are in “dire need of replacement,” according to the CBJ release. The main bridge closed Friday, and the bridge replacement should be finished sometime this coming week.
Construction of a new bridge over Jordan Creek is shown in April 2019. (Courtesy photo | Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition)
The project extends beyond the bridges, as volunteers and the airport crew will help restore an 8-acre greenbelt just north of the airport that’s surrounded by dense urban development. These restoration efforts include getting rid of invasive plants, planting trees, getting rid of an obsolete trail, improving water quality by relocating snow storage areas, picking up litter and more.
Those who are interested in helping with cleanup efforts can do so this Saturday. SAWC is leading a crew of volunteers to clean up garbage along Jordan Creek as part of the annual citywide cleanup Saturday. People will meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Duck Creek Market to pick up trash bags before joining the cleanup crew.
John Hudson, restoration biologist with SAWC, said in the organization’s release that Jordan Creek used to be a much more productive coho salmon stream, but urbanization around the creek has taken a toll. Hudson said the Department of Environmental Conservation has listed the stream as “impaired” and there are also public safety concerns in some areas of the stream.
“Stewarding this site will take more than actions to improve habitat and recreation,” Hudson said in the release. “Stewardship here means connecting the people of Juneau to the streams that flow though their backyards and building a community around our local watersheds.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
