Hoonah cruise-ship dock back on track

A cruise ship lightering boat pulls up to the Icy Strait Point Dock in Hoonah. A new floating pier will replace the dock by the end of next summer. (Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
A cruise ship lightering boat pulls up to the Icy Strait Point Dock in Hoonah. A new floating pier will replace the dock by the end of next summer. (Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

Hoonah and its village Native corporation are moving ahead with plans to build a cruise-ship pier near town.

A partnership called the Hoonah Cruise Ship Dock Co. awarded the $24 million design and construction contract Monday, Nov. 24. It went to Anchorage-based Turnagain Marine Construction.

The dock company is made up of Hoonah’s municipal government, the Huna Totem Corp. and the state of Alaska, according to a corporate press release.

Huna Totem owns and operates the Icy Strait Point tourist attraction, which includes a renovated cannery, a zipline, tours and gift shops. Cruise ships have anchored nearby and passengers have been shuttled to the attraction on small boats.

Construction of the 400-foot floating pier is scheduled to begin by spring. Completion is set for the end of August.

The project has been controversial. Former city leaders and Huna Totem fought over its location, delaying construction and almost losing state funding.

Hoonah is 50 miles west of Juneau and about 20 miles south of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

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