State to Pursue Ferry Alternative for Gravina Access
(KETCHIKAN, Alaska) – The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced to Ketchikan Gateway Borough and City of Ketchikan officials today that it will recommend the Gravina Access Project Alternative G4v as the state’s preferred alternative to the Federal Highway Administration. With a preferred alternative selected, the state will begin the necessary steps toward finalizing the federal environmental process.
Alternative G4v is a ferry service variant that will improve existing ferry facilities for airport travelers and the movement of heavy freight. The alternative includes a passenger waiting facility, a new heavy freight dock and other amenities to improve access for ferry travelers and transporting freight to and from Gravina Island. Additional ferry service and associated terminals would be provided when an increased demand warrants additional service.
The estimated construction cost for the preferred alternative is $23 million. Funding that has been previously set aside for the Gravina Access Project will finance construction and related activities.
The federal environmental process, known as the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, was distributed for public review in June 2013. ADOT&PF will conduct an informational public workshop on the preferred alternative in early 2016. A timeline for when construction may begin is not yet known.
The purpose of the Gravina Access Project is to improve surface transportation from Revillagigedo Island, where the community of Ketchikan resides, to nearby Gravina Island, the location of the Ketchikan International Airport. Additional project information may be found online at dot.alaska.gov/sereg/projects/gravina_access.
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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