ANCHORAGE - The Army Corps of Engineers gave its approval Jan. 15 for construction of a road and hovercraft link between King Cove and Cold Bay.
Residents of King Cove, an Aleut fishing village on the Gulf of Alaska coast, want better access to Cold Bay for medical, economic and social reasons. The decision means the project can get under way, said Bob Juettner, administrator for the Aleutians East Borough.
Cold Bay, with a population of just 88, has the third longest civilian runway in Alaska. King Cove, with a population of 800 and a seasonal influx of about 400 fish processing workers, has only a gravel airstrip that restricts air travel to daylight hours and good weather.
Lying between the communities is Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, federal land where roads are prohibited. Conservation groups fought a proposal in Congress to allow a road through Izembek, fearing that roads through other wilderness areas would follow.
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
As a compromise, Congress in 1998 agreed to a demand by U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, to provide alternative access for King Cove. A special appropriation included $20 million to plan and build a year-round, vehicle-accessible transportation link.
Aleutians East Borough officials said they were overjoyed by the Corps decision.
"It allows us to continue working to develop a way for King Cove families to have safe, dependable access," said Mayor Stanley Mack in a prepared statement.
The project could eliminate the need to attempt flights from King Cove in poor weather. Eleven people have died in plane crashes trying to get in and out of the village since the late 1970s when the federal government designated much of the land around the village as wilderness.
The borough expects to receive permits allowing work in navigable waters, and allowing the discharge of fill material into waters, including wetlands.
No project facilities or operations will be within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge or the Izembek Wilderness Area.
The project consists of 17.2 miles of one-lane road, six waste material disposal sites, six temporary barge landing sites, two hovercraft terminals with ramps, and a hovercraft. The gravel road would have a 12-foot wide travel lane with 90 turnouts for passing. It would have five single-lane bridges and 234 culverts.
Conservation groups opposed the alternative chosen. The Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club of Alaska testified in September that the proposed road to the northeast corner of Cold Bay would provide a jump-off point for a road across the refuge.
It would also create significant environmental impacts by requiring more gravel fill material, culverts and bridges than other alternatives.
Two alternatives favored by environmental groups required a road only as far as Lenard Harbor, less than six miles from King Cove. They said that King Cove residents would be just as well served at half the cost.
This route is cheaper, more reliable and less environmentally destructive, said Stan Senner, executive director of Alaska Audubon, a division of the National Audubon Society.
But Juettner said strong winds at Lenard, often in conflict with tides, made the location dangerous and not the best alternative.
Senner said environmental groups and their attorneys will review the congressional action and the Corps' decision to determine their next action. Senner said they would consider all their options and have not ruled out a lawsuit.
The borough expects technical and cost proposals for road construction in February. The borough is in negotiations with a hovercraft designer and has identified possible shipyards.
King Cove residents could see improved access by October 2005, barring a legal challenge, Juettner said.
