Juneau staff seek $3.5 million toward new Glacier Highway water main before road rebuild

Juneau utility staff asked an Assembly committee Monday for $3.5 million to move ahead on replacing the water main under Glacier Highway between Ross Way and Salmon Creek, a pipe they warn could fail.

The 1980s-era iron main is part of the city's main water line between downtown and the Mendenhall Valley. In a memo to the Public Works and Facilities Committee, Utilities Superintendent Brian McGuire and Utilities Engineer Alan Steffert wrote that the utility has made 18 pipe break repairs so far this year. They cited the main's age and "its potential for a catastrophic failure seen in other parts of the CBJ Water system."

A new main would let the city keep full water service going without the Salmon Creek source in an emergency, staff say, and improve delivery from southern water sources to the valley.

The timing is tied to the state. The state transportation department plans to rebuild Glacier Highway from Ross Way to the hospital, likely in 2029. If the pipe goes in the year before, the city would only have to repave a 6- to 8-foot trench instead of a full lane. "This infrastructure opportunity will likely not occur again for the next 20 years," the memo said.

The project is estimated at $13 million. A state loan of $9 million to $10 million would cover the rest. The Assembly authorized the city manager to seek it Oct. 26. It would be a below-market loan repaid over 20 years, and the Assembly still has to approve the borrowing by ordinance.

The $3.5 million would include $1 million from the water utility's fund and $2.5 million shifted from four projects staff call lower priority. The biggest, $1.5 million, would come from improvements at the Last Chance Basin wellfield, Juneau's primary water source.

The city's capital plan, adopted in June, ranked the Glacier Highway main 20th among water projects. If the money is approved, staff said, construction could start next spring.