The Municipality of Skagway is spending nearly $300,000 to prepare Main Street for future repairs. The town will need to secure millions in construction funding and decide the makeup of its secondary road.

 

Skagway residents noticed surveyors working on Main Street this week. Borough Manager Brad Ryan says it’s the start of the long process to redevelop the aging road.

“So, they’re surveying for a topographic survey to pick up all the features along Main Street, storm drains, sidewalks, alleys, curb and gutter, the whole thing,” Ryan says. “And then we’re going to use that survey to do a pretty good community outreach to what they want to do with Main Street in the future, because we know that it’s failing. And we need to lay a plan before it totally fails on us. And make some community decisions on how to develop Main Street in the future.”

There were complaints on Facebook of workers being in people’s yards. Except what residents think of as their property, might actually belong to the municipality.

Land, particularly on the east side of the street where there is no sidewalk, has been used by some property owners as an extension of their yard.

“A lot of people have yards or porches, actually all the way to the right of way, or nearly on it” Ryan says. “And so there’s gonna be a lot of discussion about what do we want to do with that? I mean, I’m sure the landowners along there are like, ‘Wow, that’s my yard,’ which is unfortunate. And so hopefully, we’ll have a good discussion about it before we do anything.”

A condition assessment from engineering consultant ​​RESPEC states that Main Street’s roadway, sidewalks, water system, storm sewer and sanitary sewer systems are quote, “in need of repair.” The company estimated the cost to be $38 million.

Another issue with Main Street is its accessibility. A 37-page report by Southeast Alaska Independent Living details compliance issues Main Street has with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The document shows problems with curb width and slope and lack of appropriate walkways.

Currently, the engineers are providing pre-design services. This includes topographic mapping, conceptual design and public input. The contract costs roughly $300,000 and is the first step to applying for grants.

Ryan says designing and then funding for Main Street is going to be difficult.

“First is just the community planning,” he says. “What do you want on Main Street? And that’s a big question. You got the school there, it’s our secondary road, especially if we’re going to bring more and more tourists to town. And then what do you want? How do you want to see it developed in the future? And even with that, once we know what the community wants, it’s going to be hard to fund. And so, I think we’re going to have to chase money for a number of years before we can ever do anything out there.”

When approving the pre-design services, Assembly member Orion Hanson explained the gravity of the situation.

“And sooner or later, we’re going to be at a point where we’re going to wish we had started,” Hanson says. “So Public Works Director Ames has been very adamant that, you know, while this is going to be a very expensive project, and we’re going to need, certainly, grant funds to help with this, if we don’t start it, there’s going to come a time when the sewer starts to collapse.”

The money for the pre-design is being paid for by the borough’s 2024 Capital Improvement Project Fund.