The popular Goldbelt Tram up Mount Roberts in downtown Juneau has been closed off to riders for the entire summer after a crash in April.
Now, Juneau’s cruise ship tourism season is coming to a close in just a few short weeks. Goldbelt Incorporated President and CEO McHugh Pierre said the company is still waiting for a major part to arrive from France. It’s still a toss-up whether the tram will open before the last ship leaves on Oct. 6.
“If we can, we will. We’ve had staff on, ready to go,” he said. “We improved all of our standard operating procedures, so we’ve taken the opportunity to go through every inch of the tram to make sure that we have the safest, most reliable operation for our employees and for our guests.”
The tram is one of Juneau’s most popular visitor attractions. It normally brings hundreds of thousands of riders up and down Mount Roberts each summer, which Pierre said pencils out to roughly $1 million in sales tax annually to the city. However, Goldbelt closed it in April after a tram car came to an abrupt halt at its bottom terminal, sending two employees to the hospital with injuries.
Since then, Pierre said Goldbelt has been working to repair the damage and understand what went wrong. He declined to say what caused the crash.
“For legal purposes, I can’t disclose all of the investigation details, but the public should be very well assured that we have gone through an exhaustive investigation by multiple entities,” he said.
Pierre said Goldbelt is working with third-party engineering firms outside of Alaska that specialize in lift operations.
Earlier this summer, the company announced it would be refunding all prepaid tickets for time slots during the closure period and issued a refund to season pass holders. Goldbelt has kept its bottom terminal near the downtown seawalk open for visitors, which has a coffee shop and gift section.
Pierre said Goldbelt had hoped to open the tram up much sooner, but tariffs and supply chain issues have delayed the work. Despite that, he said he is confident that it will be ready and safe for riders next season. Before it opens, the tram must pass a certification evaluation with the state.
The last cruise ship of the season, the Norwegian Encore, leaves Juneau at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
