Update: This story has been updated to reflect the Department of Transportation pushing back the comment period deadline for the first phase of this project, and a statement from the department.
The first public comment period for the controversial Cascade Point ferry terminal project has been extended until Friday, Jan. 9. The Alaska Department of Transportation announced the change Friday, Nov. 28, the original deadline for initial comments.
The DOT’s Southcoast public information officer Sonny Mauricio said the department extended the deadline to give the public more time to comment during the holiday season.
“We recognize many Alaskans were traveling or unavailable, and we wanted to ensure everyone had a fair chance to participate,” Mauricio wrote in an email.
The project proposes building a new Alaska Marine Highway System ferry terminal on Berners Bay, about 30 miles up the road from the existing terminal in Auke Bay. The state says the goal is to reduce ferry transit times to Haines and Skagway by establishing a closer terminal.
The state signed a contract allocating $28 million last summer for the project’s first phase. That includes extending the road from Glacier Highway’s end to access the site and building a terminal pad. The state says construction on this phase could begin in the summer.
The project is planned for land owned by Goldbelt, Inc., a Juneau-based Alaska Native corporation.
A Canadian mining company last year signed a letter of intent with Goldbelt to explore the potential development of an ore terminal on the same land at Cascade Point, where the ferry terminal is proposed. That agreement came as the company continued environmental studies for its New Amalga Gold Project near Herbert Glacier.
A mid-October analysis of the proposed terminal by the state said that “improved access to mineral and industrial logistics,” and “cost-sharing arrangements for capital and maintenance.”
The analysis also stated that the project’s operational, environmental, economic and social benefits would outweigh its drawbacks. That includes substantial decreases in carbon dioxie emmissions from the shorter ferry leg and hundreds of thousands of dollars saved in operational efficiencies.
The report also said the value of the terminal increases when considered as part of a network of changes to a “restructured Northern Lynn Canal corridor.”
The state’s report has drawn public criticism from leaders in Haines and members of the AMHS Oversight board, KHNS reported, with one board member saying it reads “like a timeshare brochure.”
The January deadline will mark the close of only the first comment period. The state says it will gather additional public input during stage two of the project, with a future comment period to be announced for the next phase — marine construction, utilities, the dock and the terminal.
