DOT, CBJ and consultants wrap up Planning and Environmental Linkage study for Juneau's Juno-Douglas North Crossing

Christopher Goins, South Coast regional director for the Alaska Department of Transportation, told the Assembly Committee of the Whole on July 14 that DOT has submitted a final Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) study for the Juno-Douglas North Crossing to DOT headquarters and plans to move into the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) phase within weeks.

The PEL process was used to narrow a wide set of possible crossing options into a smaller group of alternatives to be evaluated in NEPA, DOT and CBJ representatives said. "We decided to go forward with a new process called the Planning Environmental Linkage Study" to reduce the number of alternatives before NEPA, Goins said.

The PEL was presented by Steve Noble, senior project manager with Dowell Engineering, who said the work began in spring 2022 and included intensive public engagement. "This has been probably the project that's had the most public involvement of any project I've participated in in the last 30 years," Noble said, noting seven advisory committee meetings, three open houses and multiple pop-up events. He said the PEL team received more than 600 comments on the final draft.

Why it matters: The PEL narrows what would otherwise be a large, complex NEPA process into a manageable set of alternatives. NEPA-level study, Noble and Goins said, can take several years. Goins estimated a multi-year NEPA timeframe; Noble suggested NEPA could be two to five years, followed by several years of design before construction could start.

What the PEL concluded: The PEL carried five corridor locations forward for NEPA evaluation: Salmon Creek, Twin Lakes, Vanderbilt, Sunny Point (A and B variants) and Mendenhall Peninsula, with Salmon Creek and Mendenhall Peninsula scoring relatively higher under tightened weighting for refuge impacts. Noble said the Mendenhall Peninsula alternative is far costlier than other options, with a planning-stage estimate in the range of $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion versus roughly $300 million to $400 million for other alternatives.

Noble explained the scoring: the team applied additional weight to impacts inside the Mendenhall Wetlands National Wildlife Refuge following public and stakeholder input; alternatives that cross refuge lands consequently scored more poorly. Because of limited field work so far, Noble said the technical case for eliminating any of the five carried-forward alternatives is weak and recommended that all five (plus the required no-build alternative) be evaluated during NEPA.

Key technical and schedule points: - The PEL relied largely on desktop work with a limited field campaign (two weeks of field work in October 2023). - The Salmon Creek option assumes the ability to construct near the Salmon Creek Dam; the project team filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for dam information but said the response timeline required deferring deeper analysis to NEPA. - The Mendenhall Peninsula option's high cost is driven by span length and structural requirements; the team used USGS subsurface data to make planning-level pile-depth assumptions. - NEPA technical work will likely include two seasons of biological field studies (wetlands, fisheries, birds), cultural resources, visual and noise analysis, right-of-way and 4(f)/6(f) considerations, and Coast Guard coordination where navigation determines bridge height.

Public feedback and topics raised: Comment themes included strong preference to avoid impacts inside the refuge, concern about dam safety and Salmon Creek, airport compatibility, private-property impacts, demand for more environmental study, and debate over whether a second crossing is needed. Noble said public and stakeholder feedback led the team to add weighting for refuge impacts during the level 2 screening.

Funding and local role: Goins and CBJ staff emphasized the project will require substantial local match for federal grants; Goins and CBJ staff urged the Assembly to weigh political and fiscal trade-offs during NEPA and later funding decisions.

Next steps: The PEL has been submitted to DOT headquarters. With final PEL approval expected imminently, the project team plans to enter the NEPA phase. Noble said NEPA could take two to five years, followed by about three years of design before construction could start on whichever alternative survives NEPA.

Speakers from the meeting: Christopher Goins (South Coast regional director, Alaska Department of Transportation), Denise Koch (engineering and public works director, City and Borough of Juneau), Steve Noble (senior project manager, Dowell Engineering).