A coalition of Juneau scientists, conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts will hold a forum about the proposed Juneau-Douglas second crossing on Monday at 6 p.m. in Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the City and Borough of Juneau and the engineering firm DOWL have been collaborating over the past two years to identify possible routes for the transportation corridor to connect Juneau with north Douglas via their planning and environmental linkages study.
So far they’ve narrowed it down to six options. Most pass through Taashuyee-Chookan.aani, also known as the Mendenhall Wetlands. That’s a concern, said Matt Robus, a retired director of wildlife conservation for Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Robus will serve as the forum’s moderator.
“It’s a rare and very productive natural area that’s already got an airport in the middle of it, and it’s right in the middle of a city,” he said. “It was not put there just to be empty land that can be converted to a route to the other side without some very serious conditions and limitations.”
The forum will feature panelists from organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southeast Alaska Land Trust, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Audubon Alaska and Territorial Sportsmen, Inc., among others.
They’ll discuss the wetland’s role as an important habitat for fish and migratory birds. And they’ll also share concerns about the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ approach to the second crossing study so far.
Robus is a member of the Mendenhall Wetlands study group, a collection of nearly two dozen scientists and naturalists who serve on the technical advisory committee for the study. They’ve seen drafts of from the study’s second-stage screening which have not been publicly released.
Robus says some members of the advisory committee are concerned that the Department of Transportation’s approach thus far does not thoroughly consider the potential environmental impact of the project.
“We’re not against a second crossing,” Robus said. “What we are for is a second crossing that is intelligently cited, and that is as much of a win-win as possible.”
Some organizations on the committee, including the Mendenhall Wetlands study group and the Southeast Alaska Land Trust, are especially concerned that the Salmon Creek alternative may be nixed. It’s the only proposed route that doesn’t cut through the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge.
But Alaska DOT has expressed concern that a bridge there could be damaged by flooding in the event of a breach of the nearby Salmon Creek hydroelectric dam, which Alaska Electric Light and Power flagged as a worst-case scenario possibility.
In an email to KTOO, Department of Transportation spokesperson Sam Dapcevich said the department needs more information about the dam to proceed.
“The necessary process to acquire this data has started but does not come with a prescribed timeline,” Dapcevich wrote.
The final draft of the study was originally supposed to be publicly released this summer. Now, as the department further considers the Salmon Creek alternative, and other comments from the advisory committees, there is no precise date for the study’s completion.
“We are committed to keeping all stakeholders informed as this evolves,” Dapcevich wrote.
The department declined an invitation to participate in next week’s forum, but Dapcevich emphasized there’s been no decision to remove any alternative.
After the study is complete, any selected routes will be subject to further review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
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