Cordova South Harbor

Construction

Long-awaited project finally underway

By Vanessa Orr

julof90 | iStock

ast November, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded $20 million to the City of Cordova for the ongoing rebuild of its South Harbor. And while the process to replace the aging harbor will be a long one, for the city and one of the state’s largest commercial fishing fleets, the project couldn’t get started soon enough.

“We’ve been needing it for a long time; the harbor that is being replaced was being built in 1981 when I first came here and was expected to have about a thirty-year lifespan,” says fisherman Jeff Bailey of the FV Odyssey and FV Miss Margeaux. “Now, it’s on year forty.”

Bailey adds, “Every year, more floats become waterlogged and roll over, and the cleats on the dock have broken loose with a number of larger vessels… It’s not uncommon for floats to break loose with boats attached, and we have to go corral them.”

“We are hoping to find an additional $10 million… which would bring us up to $42 million… You would think with that kind of money, you could build the Taj Mahal of harbors, but not these days.”

Helen Howarth, City Manager, City of Cordova

Though the state originally built Cordova’s South Harbor, it later turned it over to the community, which became responsible for maintenance and repairs. “As fishermen, we invest in our equipment every year, building new boats and new fishing nets and making modifications and improvements, but the harbor didn’t evolve in this same way,” says Bailey. “There were many competing priorities, and once it started deteriorating, there was no funding left. It’s difficult for a city of our size to fix something like this all on its own.”

“If the entire fleet had been in town when the grant was announced, you could have heard the ‘hurrahs’ all the way to Anchorage,” laughs Cordova City Manager Helen Howarth. “It’s a really big deal. The fleet has been suffering with this aging infrastructure for a long time, and getting these issues resolved will make for much more comfortable, safer harbor.”

City of Cordova

Restoring the Harbor

While the harbor restoration is still in the planning stages, the $20 million grant is expected to go toward restoring South Harbor docks and floats, as well as paying for sheet piling, dredging, and construction of a new drive-down floatplane and vessel services dock. The project is also expected to improve environmental sustainability by reducing water pollution by creating a pump-out sewer station to eliminate the temptation of vessels to discharge wastewater into the harbor. Other improvements include improving access not only for the commercial fleet but making the harbor more attractive for small-scale cruise ships, independent cruisers, and sportfishing operators.

The city recently hired Mark Keller to advise on the initial stages of project planning and to help it develop an RFP (request for proposal). “Mark, who was Huna Totem Corporation’s cruise ship dock project manager, came highly recommended,” says Howarth. “He has worked extensively in Alaska and taken part in a number of water-based projects, and since this is a new type of project for us, we wanted to work with someone with a high level of expertise.

“As soon as we got news of the award, we launched ourselves out of the gate for a 50-mile marathon run, because as you can imagine, the process will be a long one,” she adds. “All sorts of environmental studies will need to be done since the project is in federal and state waters, and we’re also still seeking more funding. The environmental process could take as long as a year to complete, so we’re hoping to have boots on the ground in 2023.”

City of Cordova

While the project was originally estimated at $30 million, construction and material prices have steadily increased, and Howarth says that Cordova is hoping to raise approximately $42 million to complete the renovations.

In addition to the $20 million provided by the DOT RAISE (Rebuilding America Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant, the city has been awarded a $5 million Tier 1 Municipal Harbor Grant funded by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities that it will match with funds provided by a voter-approved bond. In March, a second voter-approved bond goes before voters that would help pay back a potential $2 million Federal Clean Water Act loan that would be used to replace the creosote pilings in the South Harbor with steel pilings.

The $20 million grant will help fund restoring South Harbor floats and docks and a new drive-down float plane and vessel services dock.

cweimer4 | iStock

The $20 million grant will help fund restoring South Harbor floats and docks and a new drive-down float plane and vessel services dock.

cweimer4 | iStock

“We are hoping to find an additional $10 million, possibly from the EDA [US Economic Development Administration] or other programs, which would bring us up to $42 million,” says Howarth. “You would think with that kind of money, you could build the Taj Mahal of harbors, but not these days.”

While the renovation will likely be a design/build project, that has yet to be determined, and the city is working with harbor users to gather input and prioritize different projects.

City of Cordova

“City management and council have been working really hard on this issue, and they’ve done a really good job on prioritizing what we need to continue on as a community, especially during COVID, which has diverted a lot of attention and made it easy to get distracted and not focus on the future,” says Bailey. “People in the community are happy that they are being included in the planning, and we’ve got a lot of ideas.

“In a place like Cordova, most people work for themselves, which means everyone is in charge,” he laughs. “We’re going to have fun with that one.”

As the host of the one of largest commercial fishing fleets in Alaska, Cordova Mayor Clay Koplin notes that the restoration of South Harbor is important not only to the city but to the nation as well. Cordova has ranked as high as the fifth largest seafood delivery port in the nation, averaging the 11th largest over the past decade—part of an $18 billion industry in the United States alone.

“A number of major processors work out of this community, and the commercial fleet is the number one source of revenue for Cordova and a number of other cities in [Prince William] Sound,” says Bailey. “There are literally tens of millions of dollars of seafood product harvested through this community.”

Growing Pains

All that fishing—plus commercial and private maritime activity, the US Coast Guard, and a growing number of cruise ship visits—doesn’t stop while South Harbor is being rebuilt, so figuring out how to move the fleet during construction takes some logistical coordination.

“There’s no doubt that this project will be disruptive to the harbor; we’re going to have to mobilize quite an extensive ‘move your boat please’ process,” says Howarth. “Our goal is to make sure that there is as little disruption to the fleet as possible.

“If the entire fleet had been in town when the grant was announced, you could have heard the ‘hurrahs’ all the way to Anchorage… It’s a really big deal. The fleet has been suffering with this aging infrastructure for a long time, and getting these issues resolved will make for much more comfortable, safer harbor.”

Helen Howarth
City Manager
City of Cordova

“There are still a lot of questions about how we’ll move all these boats in the harbor without moving all of the boats in the harbor,” she adds. “But smart minds can make this happen, and we’ll make it as quick as we can and get it done.”

“I think people realize there is no alternative, so we’ll come up with some type of plan,” agrees Bailey. “Some boats that are seasonal and are stored in the harbor during the winter can come out, and there are plenty of options to move other things around. I’m sure the city will do what it needs to accommodate that.”

Working together, the city hopes to get the project off the ground as quickly as it can. “We want to get in the queue as soon as possible, so as not to experience too many delays,” says Howarth. “As soon as the infrastructure money hits the ground, there will be many competing projects, and we want to be at the front of the list.”

She continues, “We’re so excited and we couldn’t be happier that finally, finally, finally, we have a project in a small rural Alaskan community that will have a huge impact not only on us but on an industry that supports this entire region.”

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