The so-called pioneer road being built on West Douglas will be extended about another mile. This after the Juneau Assembly’s authorization of another $600,000 from state funds leftover from a canceled dredging project.
The Juneau Assembly unanimously approved the expenditure Monday. That means the road will eventually extend 3.4 miles from North Douglas Highway to just shy of Middle Creek.
The western end of Douglas Island was identified for future growth in the city’s 1997 conceptual plan. The first couple miles were finished this summer.
But as it’s narrow, unpaved and gated to block vehicles, it’s more trail than highway.
“We’re making it available for non-motorized use, so when the contractor’s done building the road, it’ll be a great place to go dog-walking and things of that nature,” City Manager Rorie Watt said Tuesday. “And then of course over the long haul, we’re trying to quest after community growth back there and that will likely unfold over decades rather than years.”
The funds for the road building project come from a long-dormant grant to dredge Gastineau Channel to improve shipping navigation. Once that project was scuttled the state agreed to let the city use the funds to build a road instead.
Work on the the last 1.1 miles is expected to continue through the fall. The city’s access to the grant money expires next June.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the origin of the funds. They were from the state Legislature, not the federal government.
