State seeks bids on a ferry terminal study for Hyder, population 41, which the ferry does not serve

The state of Alaska has opened bidding on a study estimated to cost $200,000 to $250,000 to determine whether a ferry terminal belongs in Hyder, a Southeast community the Alaska Marine Highway System does not currently serve. Proposals are due Oct. 6 at 4 p.m.

The 2020 census counted 48 people in Hyder. The state's 2025 estimate is 41.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Southcoast Region, posted the solicitation Wednesday on the state's public notice register. The chosen firm is to deliver preliminary design work, a rough order of magnitude cost estimate, meaning a ballpark figure, and a feasibility study to assess whether the project is viable. The work is scheduled to run from about Nov. 15, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2027.

The ferry system's community directory lists 35 ports served across Southeast, South Central and Southwest Alaska, including Yakutat. Hyder is not among them. The Alaska Marine Highway System 2045 Long-Range Plan ties possible Hyder service to whether Prince Rupert, British Columbia, remains an AMHS port, and the plan references an ongoing feasibility study connected to that question.

The same office published a second solicitation the same day for the existing terminal at Yakutat, where AMHS service began in 1998. It calls for "the planning, analysis, and design of a new side-berth mooring facility intended to improve vessel compatibility," a berth where a ship ties up alongside the dock, with design services expected to cost $1 million or more. That agreement is expected to begin about Nov. 15, 2026, and run through Dec. 31, 2030, and the Yakutat notice says the work will be paid for with federal money. Proposals for that solicitation are due at 4 p.m. on Oct. 9. The Hyder notice names no funding source.

Skagway's terminal closed indefinitely this year for work the state had planned as a one-week job, and Unalaska asked the state to study seasonal service from Cold Bay. The system also drew more than $410 million in federal awards in August, including terminal money for Cascade Point and Kake.

Neither notice states why the Hyder study was commissioned or what prompted it now. Hyder is unincorporated and has no local government body to file a formal position, and the available record identifies, quotes or consults no Hyder resident about the proposal. The register's comment box tells users that "the agency will consider all posted comments, but it will not respond to them."

The procurement calendar did not list either solicitation when checked, so readers seeking the full proposal packages should consult the public-notice records directly or obtain them from the DOT&PF plans room by contacting [email protected] or 907-465-4420.