(JUNEAU, Alaska) – The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ (ADOT&PF) Hyder Causeway Reconstruction and Trestle Replacement Project received the Juneau Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2013 Project of the Year Award Saturday. The annual award recognizes the Alaska project that best exemplifies outstanding engineering skill through the design, coordination and construction.

The $10 million project included causeway reconstruction, trestle replacement, and an expansion of Harbor Island to allow for continued boat and seaplane access. The reconstruction met project goals of benefiting the Hyder community by allowing for continued access to Hyder, Alaska by boat and seaplane. The seaplane dock and small boat basin on Harbor Island support the only means of transportation between Hyder and other U.S. locations without going through Canada.

ADOT&PF also used innovative techniques to accelerate construction. Crews prefabricated trestle components off site and used new testing technology for the pilings in the trestle structure, which reduced time and conserved approximately $3.6 million. In addition, ADOT&PF constructed the new trestle from a barge rather than a parallel work trestle, also resulting in a more cost effective and timely construction process. Construction from a barge also reduced impacts to the environment by minimizing impacts to the intertidal wetlands.

To mitigate for the project’s wetland impacts, ADOT&PF partnered with the United States Forest Service to conduct a habitat enhancement project to expand coho and chum salmon rearing ponds and channels in the Marx Creek area, just north of Hyder.  

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities oversees 237 airports, 9 ferries serving 35 communities along 3,500 marine miles, over 5,600 miles of highway and 839 public facilities throughout the state of Alaska. The mission of the department is to “Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure.”

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