Kodiak airport board to review two Trident Basin seaplane base plans that would replace Dock A

HDL Engineering Consultants is scheduled to present two preliminary alternatives for the Trident Basin Seaplane Base to the City of Kodiak Airport Advisory Board at noon Wednesday, Oct. 21. Both would replace the base's deteriorating Dock A. Public comments are due Oct. 28, ahead of a public workshop and selection of a preferred alternative with the city and the FAA.

The review is a discussion item, not a vote. The board advises the Kodiak City Council; it does not decide.

The consultant's presentation says Dock A shows signs of sinking and does not meet FAA dock-height requirements. Existing chain anchoring has failed during storms. Dock A also holds the base's only transient parking, which debris sometimes makes unusable, and reefs inside the water operating area limit use at lower tides.

Alternative 1 keeps the existing three-dock system. It widens the operating area from 200 to 250 feet, removes the reefs, replaces Dock A and upgrades anchoring on Docks B and C. On land it adds a 10-position aircraft tie-down apron, four hangar lease lots, a passenger shelter and administration building, paved parking and an aircraft wash rack. HDL describes it as the lower-cost, less complex option.

Alternative 2 includes all of that plus a fourth dock with about three more aircraft parking positions and a floating headwalk linking the docks. HDL says it carries a larger over-water footprint, a higher cost and more maintenance.

Neither option carries a dollar figure yet. HDL calls the drawings planning-level concepts whose dimensions, quantities, anchoring, costs and environmental requirements will be refined.

The FAA approved the plan's forecast on March 25. It projects annual operations rising from 8,165 to 10,385 by 2045, based aircraft from 13 to 17 and dock parking slips from 18 to 23. The presentation says FAA acceptance of the plan does not commit federal funding.

In May, acting City Engineer Chris Lynch told the board HDL had identified two projects to keep Kodiak in FAA funding planning for fiscal 2027 through 2030: replacing Dock A with an electrical upgrade, and aircraft tiedowns in the quarry area. The rough cost was $3 million, with the FAA paying 95% and the city 5%, according to the meeting minutes.

Comments go through the form at tridentbasinamp.com. The public workshop is Nov. 4, 5:30 to 7:30 pm, at Fisherman's Hall.