And it's going to be a big one.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development David Sampson announced May 28 the approval of a $3 million grant to begin construction of a "tide-free" dock expansion for the fishing hub, located 379 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Dillingham Mayor Chris Napoli said the project will provide a major boost to the local and regional economy.

The city is waiting for word from the state on an additional grant request before construction can begin. Nevertheless, contractors are demolishing the dock to make way for the improvements. Another small dock is available for interim use. The new facility will encompass 3.5 acres and jut out into Bristol Bay to minus four tidewater.

Napoli said the project will make the dock area "More than three-and-a-half times as large."

"We'll be able to work twenty-four hours a day, for the most part," said Dillingham Dock Manager Eric Suttles. "We're a hub for about 16 villages in the area and we can only work at high tide. We're at our capacity and there seems to be a need in western Alaska for something like this," Suttles said.

Sampson said the federal Economic Development Administration has a thirty-year partnership with Alaska, funding more than $250 million in projects over the years with $96 million of those funds being dispersed in the past decade. He said the EDA is preparing to grant another $45 million to Alaska projects over the next four years.

"That's why I'm here," Sampson told a a press conference at the Anchorage office of U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski. "President Bush has said that no geographic area or demographic sector of America should be left behind when it comes to participating in the American Dream," he said.

Sampson said the EDA investment will help support the livelihoods of 1,800 commercial fishing permit holders and their crews. He said it also has the potential to create more than 1,000 jobs within the next five years in transportation, fishing, fish processing, construction and mining.

"I think the City of Dillingham is a perfect example," for EDA funding, Sampson said. "This will upgrade the transportation infrastructure and reduce costs for getting in and out. It fits nicely with our priorities at EDA."

Sampson said it is a "great irony" that a city that depends on the sea for its economy does not have an oceanside docking facility.

The way things work now at the dock, larger vessels approach and in many cases, use smaller vessels to load and offload cargo. The new dock will allow direct access, saving fuel, time and labor, officials said.

Vertical steel pilings and concrete support the dock. The expansion will utilize sheet piling and landfill, Suttles said. "What it does is build a fence. It's a solid wall and they backfill against it."

Dillingham City Manager John Fulton said the city is pursuing an additional $2.2 million request to the state, and should get word one way or the other in mid-June. Fulton said the city has funding committments of $500,000 from the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, and $300,000 from three different regional tribal organizations.

If the needed funding becomes available early enough this summer, construction could begin this fall and be completed next summer, city officials said.

Suttles said in addition to helping the fishing business, the new dock will meet a growing demand in the region from the construction industry for transporting supplies and equipment. "We're hoping it will attract more of the construction business and add quite a bit of revenue to the town," he said.