Juneau residents who’ve followed the second Douglas crossing debate for decades had something new to dig into Monday during the latest open house on the issue — going under the water via a tunnel next to the runways at Juneau International Airport rather than over the channel via a long-assumed bridge.
There was a new bridge proposal that caught people by surprise as well, located at Fritz Cove well to the north of alternatives under consideration until now. As with the tunnel, the airport makes the concept a challenge due to the bridge being on a ridge and portion of the channel planes narrowly pass over.
The two routes, along with about 15 others, were displayed on maps during the second open house about the current screening process at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. Steve Noble, senior project manager for Dowl, the engineering firm working with state and city officials as part of the screening, said the options were based on public feedback from earlier this year and an evaluation should be completed in a month or so to determine what’s feasible to advance to a “Level 2” screening.
“I would say a tunnel has some technical and engineering challenges that make it hard for it to be one of the three or four options moving forward,” he said. The bridge at Fritz Cove is “also challenging because it’s on a ridge, so you’d have to keep the bridge low because of planes.”
[Officials proved info on second crossing]
Noble said estimating costs and timelines for the options will be part of the evaluation to determine what is worth of next-stage consideration.
A third open house to evaluate options is scheduled for spring of 2023.
A proposed second crossing between Juneau and Douglas Island has been studied since the early 1980s. But what amounted to something of another reset occurred early this year when the city announced a partnership with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to do a federally funded study of options.
That in itself was enough for some residents to show up at Monday’s open house.
“I was wondering why they’re starting all over again,” said Jim Baumgartner, who’s been following the debate for the past 15 years. He said his curiosity was satisfied by learning a new planning method is being used, but his opinion about a second crossing remains steadfast.
“I’m in favor of it,” he said. “Any time we have an accident near the hospital it isn’t good for the traffic situation.”
Some advocates said Monday they’re hopeful now might actually be the time a crossing option is selected and built, due to the availability of federal infrastructure funds.
“This is as close as we’ve been in 30 years,” said Maggie McMillan, executive director of the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce, which has long endorsed a second crossing as a priority project for the city.
But there’s also concern picking an option such as a tunnel near the airport or extended-length bridge at Fritz Cove could stretch the planning and construction of a crossing out for many more years.
“I’ve been waiting 30 years for this,” said Robin Paul, a retired state and private industry resident. “Anything that massive or intense, and I won’t be here to drive on it.”
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said she sees favorable arguments for the Fritz Cove crossing, including endpoints for the bridge that are on city property that can be developed.
“Once you get too far south you’re not doing what we want to do, which is a large (road system) circle and not a small circle,” she said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com
