The new Lutak Dock conceptual design is nearing final approval from the federal government, a step that’s needed before the project can advance toward formal design and construction, Haines Borough manager Annette Kreitzer said.

U.S. Maritime Administration engineers have recommended approving the concept to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, who ultimately makes the decision, Kreitzer said. Public facilities director Ed Coffland, who is filling in as manager while Kreitzer is on vacation, said borough officials expect a decision within eight weeks.

In the meantime, the planning commission will review design plans and Turnagain Marine, the contractor tasked with both design and construction, will order materials, Kreitzer said.

The new concept, which was proposed by Turnagain over the summer, includes a scope change that involves retaining the existing bulkhead structure, rather than demolishing it and building a smaller access trestle, as borough staff had proposed under a different concept last spring.

The Haines Borough Assembly earlier this fall unanimously approved Turnagain’s concept and a contract with the company of up to $310,000, but local environmental group Lynn Canal Conservation has opposed it due in large part to a concern that mining companies could truck ore through Haines and use the dock as an export facility. Turnagain’s concept, which retains hundreds of feet of dock face, would make it possible for mining companies to ship ore with a containerized bulk handling system, but borough officials and contractors have said it was not devised with mine exports in mind and it would not be an ideal ore dock.

The planning commission will review 35% plans Dec. 8. Engineering plans typically are reviewed at 35%, 65% and 95%, with increasing detail at each stage.

The Port and Harbor Advisory Committee will also review the details of Turnagain’s plans as they advance, borough officials said earlier this fall.

Turnagain president Jason Davis told the Port and Harbor Advisory Committee last month that his company hopes to finalize a dock design by February, finish permitting by next September and complete construction by the fall of 2024.