Federal record zeroes out Cordova bridge-replacement money, but project status remains unclear

A nearly 90-year-old, load-posted bridge providing the only road access to part of Cordova is listed for replacement in state and federal records, but the project's federal award now shows no obligated money.

Heney Creek Bridge No. 844 crosses the creek at Milepost 2 of Point Whitshed Road. State records list the 56-foot steel bridge as built in 1936, with an 18.5-foot roadway.

The bridge is not merely old. In the most recent public statewide prioritization Alaska News found, its deck received a condition rating of 5, or fair, while its superstructure and substructure each received a 4, or poor. The state's rating key identifies a score of 4 or lower as structurally deficient.

The bridge ranked No. 15 on DOT's all-regions list of poor-condition bridges, based on 2023 inspections. The same record described it as load-posted and placed its replacement in the "Design/New Project" category. Read the state bridge-priority record.

What is unclear is whether the replacement currently has money to advance.

A Federal Highway Administration record identifies the project as the replacement of Heney Creek Bridge at Milepost 2, including drainage improvements, roadside hardware and utility work.

Its transaction history shows $909.70 obligated when the award was created June 15, 2023. A Sept. 18, 2026 revision subtracted the same amount, leaving the award with zero net obligations. The record provides no explanation for the reversal and lists no larger project cost. Its performance period continues through June 1, 2028.

The amount involved creates as many questions as the reversal. A $909.70 obligation could not finance replacement of a highway bridge, suggesting the transaction represented a limited preliminary activity, an accounting adjustment or one phase of a larger project rather than its complete budget.

Federal Highway Administration guidance defines a deobligation as a downward adjustment or cancellation of previously recorded federal funds. Such an adjustment can follow a revised cost estimate, project modification, final payment or closeout. It does not, by itself, establish that the entire underlying project has been canceled. Read FHWA's funds-management guidance.

The bridge replacement had been under development before the federal award appeared.

In June 2022, DOT sought a contractor to prepare historic documentation of Heney Creek Bridge and Eyak River Bridge before their removal. The work included photographs, construction plans, a historical narrative and a determination of whether the bridges qualified for the National Register of Historic Places. State records identified Heney Creek Bridge replacement as project NFHWY00665. Read the 2022 procurement notice.

DOT has since performed repairs without replacing the structure.

The state scheduled two-hour closures in April 2024 to repair its guardrail. In May 2025, DOT again closed the bridge in alternating two-hour blocks for what the city described as essential inspections and repairs. The city rescheduled trash collection for residents living beyond the bridge because of those closures. Read the 2025 closure notice.

The access consequences extend beyond ordinary traffic delays. A city presentation describes the Whitshed Road corridor as the only road in and out of the area. Properties, homes and utility infrastructure lie beyond Heney Creek Bridge, leaving residents dependent on the crossing for routine, emergency and municipal access.

A separate $3 million Whitshed Road and Pedestrian Improvements project does not answer the bridge-funding question. That project covers approximately three-quarters of a mile between the Copper River Highway and Orca Inlet Drive. Its published scope concerns roadway and pedestrian improvements, not replacement of Heney Creek Bridge at Milepost 2.

The available records do not identify the bridge replacement's current total cost, design progress, funding sources or construction date. They also do not explain whether the September federal revision changed the replacement plan or merely closed an early accounting phase.

Those answers now rest with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.