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DOT stages equipment at Cascade Point in anticipation of ferry terminal's first phase
Environmental organization raises alarm on possible fast-tracking of project, demands state stop until permits secured
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
Equipment is being staged at the Cascade Point Ferry Terminal site, but the project hasn’t officially broken ground, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced Monday.
Work was originally set to begin this past summer. But due to permitting concerns raised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, work on the proposed terminal was delayed in March, with a new target date in 2027. The proposed terminal is about 30 miles north of the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal.
According to DOT, a recent Army Corps decision states the area for Stage 1 work is not within the federal agency’s jurisdictional wetlands, so the agency’s permit isn’t needed at this time.
“However, ground-disturbing activities are not allowed until the State of Alaska environmental checklist and Alaska Historical Preservation Act consultations have been completed,” DOT stated in a post on its Facebook page.
Southeast Alaska Conservation Council staff saw the equipment being staged on Friday. The nonprofit organization threatened a lawsuit through a demand letter on the same day addressed to DOT, its contractor (K&E Alaska Inc.), and the Corps of Engineers.
Letters were also posted on equipment at the project site, which were removed as of Monday, according to Melissa Lewis, SEACC’s communications director.
“I think folks are probably going to be going out there intermittently to keep an eye on things,” Lewis told the Juneau Independent in an interview Monday.
The SEACC letter states it is formally placing DOT, its contractor and USACE on notice regarding “severe legal and procedural deficiencies in the environmental review and permitting process” for the Cascade Point project. SEACC demands “any and all clearing, grading, blasting, staging, pre-construction, and construction activities at the site be halted” until the permitting process has occurred.
“We are concerned that this project is being pushed forward,” Lewis said. “We’re concerned that they’re trying to break ground before the governor’s term is up.”
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a strong supporter of the proposed terminal, is scheduled to depart office when his second consecutive term ends Dec. 7.
Lewis said SEACC hadn’t received a formal response to its letter as of Monday afternoon. A Juneau Independent inquiry to the commissioner’s office did not receive a response by end of business hours Monday.
Stage 1 of the proposed ferry terminal involves construction of an access road, site preparation of the staging area and stockpiling materials for the second stage of work at the site, according to DOT’s webpage for the project. The second stage involves design and construction of the ferry terminal.
The proposed terminal has been controversial. Opponents state it appears the project primarily benefits a mining company that hopes to use the location to ship ore from the nearby New Amalga Gold Project, now in the exploratory stages. The proposed gold mine was approved for a faster federal permitting process in August.
A 2025 DOT report states the Cascade Point terminal will have mixed impacts on the state ferry system, but will be an asset to the mine as well as Goldbelt Inc.’s prospects as the property owner of the terminal site and a partner in the project.
The cost of the Cascade Point Ferry Terminal has risen to $120 million in a draft Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) for 2027-30 published in September, up from an estimate of $77 million in the previous plan. A public comment period on the STIP ends Monday.
DOT, in its announcement Monday, stated it will provide another public update before construction begins, including information on activities, schedules and potential impacts.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or 907-723-9356.
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