Thane Road contractor looking to repair hill by end of the week

Thane Road traffic could be back to normal in another week.

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The state Department of Transportation hired a Juneau contractor Friday to rebuild a hill that fell away from the Gastineau Channel side of the road Monday.

Since the landslide was discovered, just beyond the designated avalanche area, travel has been reduced to one lane.

DOT Regional Maintenance Manager Mike Coffey said the situation was enough of a public-safety concern to shorten the bidding procedures normally in place for state projects.

"The road has the potential of going," he said.

The landslide was close enough to the edge of the road that the guardrail now extends over the edge.

Channel Construction submitted the low bid among six companies competing to repair the hill. The work will cost the state $90,000.

Coffey said Channel Construction plans to begin work Monday and finish by the end of the week. The contract gives the company 10 days to complete the work.

Channel Construction plans to keep traffic delays to a minimum by using a barge to bring materials needed to rebuild the hill from the bottom up, he said.

"Most of the time, you shouldn't even notice them unless you look over the edge," Coffey said. As the work gets closer to the top, there may be some need to direct traffic to protect the crews, he added.

The hill will be rebuilt with rock, with larger rock nearer the bottom, he said. At the beach, the work also will reinforce the existing hill next to the landslide area that also appears to be at risk of falling away from the road.

Interested companies essentially had one day to put their bids together, Coffey said. On Thursday they visited the site and they submitted bids in time to be opened Friday afternoon.

Normally the department prepares project specifications and the work is put out to bid for 30 days, Coffey said.

• Tony Carroll can be reached at tony.carroll@juneauempire.com.