Ketchikan accepts $6.9 million to replace Bar Harbor floats, Mountain Point launch

Ketchikan's City Council voted 6-0 on Sept. 17, with one seat vacant, to accept a $6.875 million state grant to replace two worn floats at Bar Harbor and rebuild the Mountain Point boat launch. No one testified at the public hearing.

The grant comes from the state Division of Community and Regional Affairs. Its purpose is to "repair, maintain and upgrade port facilities and harbor infrastructure," Port and Harbors Director Wayne Phillips wrote in an Aug. 12 memo, adding that the state confirmed both projects were eligible.

Most of the money, $4.53 million, would go to Bar Harbor floats 7 and 8, which the city's project sheet says "are in very poor condition and require replacement." Crews would replace the floats, which run 558 and 594 feet long, along with all their steel piles and the water and electrical lines. The $4.53 million is a rough estimate with no contingency, based on a December 2025 quote from Bellingham Marine that may not cover tariffs or inflation.

The other $2.345 million would rebuild the Mountain Point launch. Crews would replace the ramp, floating dock, piles and timber float and extend the concrete abutment, with dredging if needed. The work is meant to keep public access for commercial and subsistence fishing, boating and tourism, the project sheet says. A January estimate from the engineering firm DOWL put the cost at $2.34 million, including a 30% contingency. One line in that estimate lists nine ramp planks at $4,500 each but totals them at $441,000, and the records do not explain the difference.

Both projects expect a grant agreement this month, permitting through October 2027 and bidding that fall. Bar Harbor work is expected to wrap up around the end of October 2028. Mountain Point construction is scheduled to run from September 2028 to about September 2029.

The city's records do not say how long either site will be closed or where boats will moor during construction, and they include no comment from Bar Harbor stall holders or Mountain Point launch users.