Alaska will spend up to $250,000 studying a ferry terminal in Hyder

The state is seeking bids on a $200,000 to $250,000 study of whether to build a ferry terminal in Hyder, a community of 41 people that the Alaska Marine Highway System does not serve.

The reason has less to do with Hyder than with Canada. Hyder sits at the head of Portland Canal on the British Columbia border, connected by road to Stewart, B.C., and from there to the provincial highway system running south. The ferry system's 2045 long-range plan ties possible Hyder service to whether Prince Rupert, B.C., remains a marine highway port — the system's Canadian road link. If Prince Rupert goes away, Hyder is the alternative.

The Department of Transportation posted the solicitation Wednesday. The chosen firm would deliver preliminary design, a ballpark cost estimate and a feasibility study, with work running from mid-November through the end of 2027. Proposals are due at 4 pm Oct. 6. The notice names no funding source and does not say what prompted the study.

Hyder is unincorporated and has no local government to take a position on it.

The study comes as the system's existing terminals are struggling. Skagway's closed indefinitely this year for work the state had planned as a one-week job, and Unalaska has asked the state to study seasonal service from Cold Bay. The same office posted a second solicitation Wednesday for design of a new mooring facility at Yakutat, expected to cost $1 million or more in federal money.