A 45-day public comment period on the revised Juneau access plan – including a public meeting in Haines – will happen this summer “for sure,” project coordinator Jason Bluhm of the state Department of Transportation told Haines Chamber of Commerce members Friday.
Without the expected draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Bluhm said he couldn’t get into the details of the plan, but he said an east Lynn Canal road remains the state’s preferred alternative.
A new, marine alternative has been developed “using existing assets and shifting things around,” he said.
The state’s last plan for a road from Juneau to Katzehin, penned in 2006, was turned back by a federal court, whose members said the state hadn’t sufficiently considered ferry-based alternatives to improving transportation in Lynn Canal.
Bluhm said the state was “getting close to the point” of issuing the document, and that a meeting in Haines would be held midway through the public comment period. Comment opportunities will include via letter, through the project website and email at [email protected]. Copies of the SEIS will be available at the website, with hard copies available on request, he said.
The Haines meeting will include an “open house” portion for residents to speak individually with DOT officials, followed by an opportunity for public testimony. “There won’t be a Q and A session. It’s just for us to listen and hear what (the public) has to say,” Bluhm said.
“At the end of the year – winter – federal highways will be looking to issue a final EIS and record of decision,” Bluhm said.
The supplemental document will include a new traffic forecast report and updated project costs, as well as reports on avalanches, user benefits, environmental and engineering updates, and socio-economic benefits.
The updated cost of an east side road is “somewhere in the realm” of $575 million, he said.
Concerns raised by those at Friday’s meeting included the possibility of being “stranded” at an unmanned ferry terminal at Katzehin in the event that an avalanche closes the road south.
“If we have a crossing and we unload and the ferry departs, does the (EIS) include any provision to pick up people if we’re stranded?” asked resident Joe Poor. Bluhm responded that there would be a “full avalanche plan.” That plan wouldn’t be included in the EIS but avalanche mitigation measures would be, he said.
Bluhm said the document would address frequency of sailings, but not a schedule. Poor said that a schedule that required Haines residents to spend two nights on visits to Juneau should be considered an economic impact.
Bluhm said the east side road alternative would end ferry service between Auke Bay and Haines. He said the state wasn’t planning to provide transportation between Katzehin and Juneau, such as by bus. “Currently, the state doesn’t run (a bus) out to Auke Bay (ferry terminal) either,” Bluhm said.
Shop owner Rodney Hinson said that travelers bound for Monday ferry sailings often arrive here the previous Friday. “We’ll lose a lot of business from people who won’t be stopping here and spending money,” Hinson said. Bluhm responded that the document’s EIS “shows a pretty favorable light for all communities.”
Asked if the east side road plan still includes dropping explosive charges from a helicopter to set loose avalanches for plowing, Bluhm said DOT planners “have substantially re-addressed the avalanche situations” on the east and west side road plans. “There’s a pretty thorough mitigation plan in there.”
Poor asked if a final decision between alternatives would be based on the volume of public comments or a “corporate decision.” Bluhm responded: “It’s a federal highways decision. It’s their document, when it goes out. Basically, it’s going to come back to what best meets the purpose and need, as well as environmental issues.”
Cost is “one of five elements that’s looked at” when weighing access alternatives, Bluhm said.
Haines Borough Mayor Stephanie Scott said an east side road would be expensive to maintain. “We’ve been told by our highway department that the most expensive section to maintain in Southeast – maybe in the state – is at the 19 Mile slide area. It takes them forever to clear that. It seems to me you’re going to have to have equipment stationed over there, big equipment.”