Summer building
list especially long

By Jessica Edwards

Expect the town to look a little torn up this summer.

Float and electrical replacement at the Haines Small Boat Harbor, continued blasting, repaving, and culvert replacement on Lutak Road, repaving of local roads, and replacement of the water tank in Highland Estates top a long list of improvement projects set for construction.

Other major projects pending include a new boarding float at the Letnikof Cove sport ramp and replacement of pilings damaged by ice floes, and depending on assembly action, ground may be broken at visitor and parking facilities at the Port Chilkoot Dock.

Residents will need to allow extra time to drive to the ferry terminal in the next two to three weeks, and many will need to move boats from moorings at the Small Boat Harbor in June.

The rental market already is very tight, said realtor Jim Studley. “It’s so tight, it squeaks. There’s a crisis in housing for rentals, for sure.” His firm gets at least a couple calls every week seeking rentals, and he’s heard of people planning on camping out in the woods. “That wouldn’t surprise me. They’ve done it before.” 

Southeast Roadbuilders president Roger Schnabel said residents should expect delays heading out Lutak Road throughout the summer. Prep work includes culvert replacement and may include minor blasting, Schnabel said, with paving scheduled for mid-summer.

Replacement of large culverts on Lutak Road north of the ferry terminal will begin at roughly the same time, said Schnabel.

State Department of Transportation planning chief Andy Hughes said work on the section of Lutak Road between Front Street and Union Street may commence this summer, depending on funding from the legislature.

Hughes said if funding came through, bids would be solicited in May or June, and work could begin by mid-summer.

Southeast Roadbuilders will also be working on $1.2 million worth of paving to local streets late May through Oct 1.

Work includes Dalton Street between Third and Sixth avenues, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth avenues between Main Street and Union Street, FAA Road from Mud Bay Road to Tower Road, and Tower Road between Mud Bay and FAA roads.

Schnabel said the paving would pose some but not substantial inconvenience, and residents should plan to take alternate routes.

About $4.4 million in upgrades to the existing basin of the borough’s small boat harbor will begin June 16 and go through Nov. 1.

Public Facilities director Brad Maynard said harbor users should make plans now to move or store boats, make repairs requiring haul out on the boat repair grid early in the season, and expect disruptions in service. “If all goes well, we’re optimistic for an early completion on this,” said Maynard.

No electrical or water service will be available during construction except at the transient float, said Maynard. The ice machine will operate and fuel will be available at the transient float.  

Maynard said boats in transient moorings should plan to vacate the harbor the entire construction period, as should boats moored at A float.

Boat owners with permanent mooring at B and C floats should make plans to evacuate the harbor by June 14, said Maynard, and should be able to move back in by Oct. 1.

Temporary ramp access will be provided off the jetty on the harbor’s north end to floats D and E until Aug. 23. Boats moored at D and E floats need to move out until Nov. 1 or whenever construction is complete.

The boat repair grid will be closed for repairs July 20 through Aug. 20.

Access to the grid will be limited the entire season due to float demolition, the temporary gangway to D and E floats, and the movement of the construction barge and crews, Maynard said. “We’re intimately aware of the need for the grid on an emergency basis, and we’ll be very sensitive to that.”

Maynard said installation of a boarding float next to the Letnikof Cove sport boat ramp would likely take place this summer, and might be piggy-backed onto other harbor work.

He said he hoped an RFP to supply and install the floats would be out within a month’s time.

Maynard said the borough was working with Ketchikan Bridge and Dock, the contractor for the small boat harbor replacements, to conduct replacement of damaged pilings at Letnikof Dock. At least two pilings were damaged by ice floes this winter.

Only the southernmost floats of the U-shaped dock were affected by the broken pilings, said Maynard, and moorage wouldn’t be substantially impacted. “The borough would like to have the damaged pilings replaced before work at the small boat harbor begins,” said borough manager Tom Bolen.

Replacement of the water tank on Young Road servicing Highland Estates is set for this summer, with no significant interruptions to service expected.

Maynard said the tank and one in Skyline near the Mount Ripinsky trailhead would both be insulated this summer in hopes of preventing the line freeze-ups and service interruptions experienced by Skyline residents this winter.

The borough is considering plans for paving the parking lot at Port Chilkoot Dock and building restrooms and a pavilion, but discussion continues on the pricetag and about what shape the work will take.

Current improvement designs are estimated to cost $1 million or more, depending on alternatives. Bolen said if a decision were made this spring, civil work could take place this summer and building construction in fall.

Smaller borough projects set include securing temporary restrooms for the Port Chilkoot Dock, minor repairs to the lightering float to the Port Chilkoot Dock, repairs to the visitor center restrooms, replacement of the handicapped access bridge at the Chilkat Center, boiler replacement at Mosquito Lake School, and repair to fire alarms at the Sheldon Museum.

Although projects would inconvenience residents, their economic benefit would far outweigh the trouble, he said.

Realtor Studley said recent demolition of apartment buildings is part of the rental squeeze, but building new apartments is a gamble, as finding renters year-round can be difficult. “If I were building something, I’d be building a duplex,” he said.