UPDATE: Comment period deadline extended to January 9, 2026.
The Alaska Department of Transportation is moving at break-neck speed to rush forward the delusional plan for a ferry terminal at Cascade Point. In this out-of-order and out-of-line process, the State of Alaska has only now — after it’s already awarded a $28.5 million contract to builders — opened a public comment period, with a deadline of November 28.
Phase I construction is set to begin Summer 2026, which includes designing and building a road and a parking lot, but no terminal. That $28.5 million is only the beginning of the bill. The construction costs are estimated at around $90 million.
That’s just the construction.
And you can’t put a price tag on the irrevocable impacts of bringing industrial development to Berners Bay.
There’s been no environmental impact study or proper inventory of cultural sites — some DOT materials show a parking lot being built directly over an established cultural site. And the economic analysis? It’s laughable.
Read Rich Moniak’s takedown of the Cascade Point Economic Analysis in the Juneau Independent
Did we mention nobody wants this? The public and the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board question the project and both Haines and Skagway officially oppose it. The new ferry terminal project manages to be not just a poor investment for the State of Alaska, it’s also less convenient and more expensive for travelers, and bad for the whole Alaska Marine Highway System.
There are very few winners in this scenario and they definitely aren’t you and me. Join us in telling AKDOT to sink this project and keep the AMHS afloat. The deadline to comment is November 28.
If it seems like monitoring the State’s sneaky behaviors is a full time job, that’s because it is — actually, there’s a whole team of us monitoring government actions and making sure you know what’s happening in Southeast Alaska and how you can make a difference. If you value our watchdog work, please consider making a gift to SEACC this year, and if you donate as part of our Giving Tuesday campaign, your gift will be matched and you’ll be entered to win some cool prizes.
Featured photo by Stacy Unzicker
