Army Corps opens comment on Auke Bay ferry berth rebuild and dredge disposal

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened public comment Thursday on a state plan to replace corroded berthing dolphins at the East Berth of the Auke Bay ferry terminal in Juneau and to dredge the West Berth, releasing about 11,000 cubic yards of sediment into the bay. Comments on the permit application are due Dec. 14.

The terminal opened in 1982 and has three ferry berths. The Corps notice says its dolphins have been repaired several times and now need full replacement: the piles are severely corroded, some with open holes, and the timber fendering on the dolphins "is also severely rotted and beginning to loosen."

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities would pull 40 18-inch piles and install six new 30-inch berthing dolphins. Dredging 1.5 acres at the West Berth would let ferries keep using the terminal while the East Berth is rebuilt.

A barge would carry the dredged material about a mile and release it into open water. Sediment testing is under way. If the material is contaminated, it would go in sealed containers to a permitted site on land. The state plans to dredge from September to December, when larger red king crab move into deeper water, and would not use impact hammers for pile driving from April 15 to June 1.

The disposal site has already moved once. In a July 2, 2025 memo, Department of Fish and Game habitat biologist Dylan Krull said the first site, near the terminal, "is within high value Red King Crab habitat and would negatively impact habitat and the crabs utilizing it." The memo recommended a low-value area about a mile away, the site now named in the Corps notice. It also said herring and young salmon use the terminal area, especially in spring.

The Corps found no adverse effect on essential fish habitat. The Corps cannot issue the permit until the Department of Environmental Conservation grants or waives a water quality certification.

The National Marine Fisheries Service reissued its marine mammal harassment authorization, covering 11 species, for Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027. The earlier version estimated 488 humpback whale exposures over up to 61 days of pile driving, because the noise zone reaches Fritz Cove, a winter gathering area for humpbacks.

The project has grown and slipped since a 2022 state notice described five dolphins, no dredging and construction as early as fall 2024. The department's project page now anticipates construction as early as fall 2027 and warns ferry schedules may change during the work.

The public comment draft of the 2027-2030 state transportation improvement program sets aside nearly $26 million for construction in fiscal 2027: about $20.8 million from a federal Rural Ferry Program grant and about $5.2 million from Ferry Boat Funds. The program says it is not a guarantee of funding.