The Alaska Department of Transportation has been working more than two years on the idea of building a new state ferry terminal at Cascade Point, almost 30 miles north of Juneau’s Auke Bay dock, to cut down the time for same-day, round-trip runs between Juneau, Haines and Skagway.
It’s a bad idea, several Haines residents told the community’s two legislators who were here for a town hall meeting last Friday.
People supported the idea of same-day round trips. What they rejected was the notion of saving time at sea by transferring the time and cost to driving so far to reach the new terminal.
Gershon Cohen questioned the cost, inconvenience and even futility of travelers getting to and from Cascade Point more than 40 miles from downtown Juneau, such as for school events or medical appointments.
“It’s amazing to me,” he said, that the state would even consider the idea.
Without some sort of adequate bus service to match the ferry schedules, and with enough room aboard the bus to haul everyone to and from town, a taxi ride would cost more than $100, Cohen said.
Tom Morphet was equally dismissive, calling it “ludicrous” to move the terminal even farther away from Juneau.
“Our ferry doesn’t go to Juneau, it goes to Auke Bay,” Morphet said. The state closed the downtown ferry terminal about 30 years ago.
Even worse, the Cascade Point dock might not be usable in the winter, due to wind and waves, and lack of a breakwater, Rep. Sara Hannan said at the community meeting at the American Legion Hall, which drew about 15 Haines residents.
That makes it an even worse idea, George Figdor said of the seasonal limitations on the location.
The Department of Transportation’s design group in a March 2019 memo to the state transportation commissioner outlined the benefits — along with the problems and costs — of building a new terminal at Cascade Point.
The intent is to allow the state’s two newest ferries — both of which are unused — to operate day trips in Lynn Canal without exceeding the U.S. Coast Guard limit of a 12-hour shift for crew. Anything longer than that would require a crew change, and the ferries were not built with crew quarters to accommodate shift work for longer voyages.
The 280-foot-long, 300-passenger Tazlina and Hubbard, built according to the state’s specifications at the Vigor shipyard in Ketchikan at a combined cost of about $120 million, were completed in 2019-2020, but are tied up to save money.
“I think Cascade Point has the potential to be helpful, especially in Lynn Canal,” Sen. Jesse Kiehl said at the town hall. But then he listed the problems, including “there has to be a workable plan” for moving passengers to and from Juneau.
Other problems include no drinking water, no sewage disposal or electricity at Cascade Point, all of which would add to development costs.
“They are starting to do those studies and research now,” Kiehl said.
Hannan raised one more problem: The Coast Guard has told the state that if ferry crew is required to report to work at Auke Bay and be shuttled to Cascade Point, the drive time would count against their 12-hour work limit, negating the benefit of starting voyages at the new location.
The department in 2019 estimated the terminal development at $27 million, and said engineering, permitting and construction could take at least a few years, after funding is made available.
No funding has been approved for the development.
The estimate includes dredging of the mooring basin, construction of marine facilities to dock the ferry and offload and load passengers and vehicles, an upland staging area for vehicles, and an electrical generator. The estimate includes a pit toilet. There would be no terminal building at the site, just a staging area.
The estimate does not include any expenses to improve the road to Cascade Point. The last 8.7 miles of the road to the site are not paved.
The land is owned by Juneau-based Native corporation Goldbelt, which operates a shuttle ferry from a small dock nearby, providing transportation to and from the Kensington gold mine north of Berners Bay.
The Department of Transportation is talking with Goldbelt about lease terms at the site, and who would build, own and operate the ferry dock — the state or the corporation.
Cascade Point, the end of the Juneau road system, is at the southern end of Berners Bay. The design group’s memo acknowledges, “There are significant environmental concerns in Berners Bay, including an abundance of marine mammals, herring and hooligan (eulachon or candlefish) spawning in the spring and other marine wildlife.”
A different option to put the Hubbard and Tazlina into same-day, round-trip service in Lynn Canal would be to spend an estimated $15 million each to add crew quarters to the ships.
Aside from the political battle to obtain the money for the ferry system, there is a risk, Kiehl said. Improving the two ferries could mean the demise of the LeConte and Aurora, both of which are more than 40 years old.
The governor and many legislators are looking for more cuts to the ferry system budget, and they could see an opportunity to further pare down the fleet if the newer ships are made more useful.
Hannan said the problem with the Tazlina and Hubbard goes back to their start on the design board, when poor decisions were made about how and where the ships would be used.