One Floodplain Study Stands Between Fairbanks and a Finished River Walk

Fairbanks is one short stretch of trail away from a continuous riverside path running from downtown all the way to University Avenue. The catch: that last piece would sit in the Chena River's floodplain, and before a single board gets laid, engineers have to prove it won't make flooding worse for the people who live nearby.

That's the question now in front of the state. The Department of Transportation is hiring a consultant to run a flood analysis on the proposed segment — roughly 2,200 feet of new path along the river's north bank, between the Peger Road area and the Pioneer Park pedestrian bridge — and is taking public comments through July 7. The work could include boardwalk sections hugging the river, built to serve commuters on foot and bike as well as recreational users.

The reason for the caution is straightforward. Federal flood-insurance rules require communities to vet any construction in a 100-year floodplain to make sure it doesn't worsen conditions for neighbors, and the borough's floodplain administrator has taken the position that building here should be limited or conditioned to keep flood risk from rising. The analysis will decide what can be built, where, and under what terms — or whether the gap stays open.

This has been a long time coming. Officials first flagged the floodplain issue back in 2017 and held a public open house in 2018; the current comment window is the latest step in a review that's stretched the better part of a decade.