Haines Borough, USFS and Senator Murkowski dedicate bridge in Excursion Inlet

Last year, the Haines Borough and the U.S. Forest Service replaced an unsafe bridge providing access to Neva Lake in Excursion Inlet. Borough assembly members, U.S. Forest Service officials, and Senator Lisa Murkowski officially dedicated the new bridge on Friday.

Neva Lake is a popular recreation site for residents of Excursion Inlet, a sparsely populated area at the Southwest end of the Haines Borough. For the Ocean Beauty fish-processing plant, one of the Borough’s largest sources of tax revenue, the lake is the only water source. Local access and the waterline to the plant both depend on a 130-foot bridge.

Concerns were first raised about the safety of the bridge in 2010. In July 2016, the bridge was closed to vehicle access due to a support beam failure. At that time the U.S. Forest Service owned the bridge. For a little more than a year, it remained closed to vehicles. Over the summer of 2017, a deal was reached to split the cost of the new bridge and transfer ownership to the Haines Borough.

Last year the Borough reached out to Senator Lisa Murkowski to help push for a deal with USFS. Murkowski spoke at the dedication for the bridge. She said that former Energy Committee staffer, Chuck Kleeschulte was instrumental in negotiating an agreement.

“When I first read about this in a little clip and said, ‘For crying out loud! We can’t get the Forest Service working with the industry, with the Borough to make this happen?’ And I said, ‘Chuck, make it happen.’”

Carol Warmuth, the engineer who oversaw construction, says the entire project cost $860,000.  Haines Borough contributed $270,000 from Secure Rural Schools funds, federal money that provides assistance for counties near national forests. The Borough will now be responsible for maintaining the bridge.

Mayor Jan Hill expressed relief at having completed such an important project.

“This seemed like a miracle. We’ve talked about it, heard about it, worried about it, stressed over it for several years. And now here we are. We certainly understand the importance of this bridge for access to your water supply and to your fishing. It’s important to have access to the land you live on.”

The new prefabricated bridge was originally purchased to provide emergency access during the Mt St Helens eruption in 1980. Warmuth says the bridge was barged up from a stockyard in Washington last summer and installed by November.

“We timed that for when the cold storage cannery wasn’t in operation, and that way we could cut the waterline. And the construction was completed in less than a month.” 

She says the lifespan of the bridge is about 70 years.

Recently, State lands North of Neva Lake were selected to be transferred to Borough ownership. Some of the lands include lakefront property. The Borough does not have the title to the lands yet, and there are no plans for what will happen once it is granted ownership.