In a recent meeting, the Nome Port Commission shared updates on major port repairs like the Ramp Replacement Project and the CAP 107 Dredging Project.
On March 11, the City of Nome received two bids for the city’s Ramp Replacement Project, and the project was ultimately awarded to Anchorage-based STG Incorporated for the lowest responsible bid of $2,954,130. Port Director Joy Baker says that the project should begin this summer.
“Right now, the intention is to stick with the contract schedule, which says that the ramp will be taken out of service on July 1st, 2021 … and put back into service by September 30, 2021. And of course, if the contractor gets the project done sooner, then the schedule will be compressed and we will get done sooner.”
– Joy Baker
The Port Commission also had a work meeting to discuss the CAP 107 Dredging Project, which is a project that the Port is working on with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to deepen and broaden the federal dredge limits in the small boat harbor and river. Baker says that the Corps is in the process of crossing out the options of where to dispose of the dredge spoils, but the Port determined some areas in Nome to recommend to the Corps for disposal.
“We have come to the determination that [the Port doesn’t] have the exact location for the exact quantity [of dredge spoils], but we’ve given them a general idea of several city-owned properties west of the Snake River in the industrial marina.”
– Joy Baker
Harbormaster Lucas Stotts also outlined Public Works projects that will be completed by the end of the spring. The Port of Nome will be collaborating with Public Works to clear snow on the Causeway Road by early April. Stotts says this will help the Port prepare for more repairs and late spring traffic.
“That’s going to be dual purpose, one, help the ground thaw faster on the road, and let us get access to those ditches before it gets busy out there in the spring, clean those up and re-profile them. The other side of it is help the ground thaw faster on the Middle and WestGold Docks, where the repairs still need to take place. We want those to happen as soon as possible this spring, and so we’re gonna try to help get that snow off the ground, help that sun cook it a bit faster so that … we can affect that repair as soon as possible.”
– Lucas Stotts
The Port will also work with Public Works to level out areas of the port road once the ice thaws.
The Port Commission will next meet on April 15th.
All commissioners were present for the meeting. This was Commissioner Gay Sheffield’s last meeting until she is sworn in for her next term as a Port Commissioner.
Image at top: The Port of Nome at the mouth of the Snake River, June 2018. Photo: Gabe Colombo, KNOM.
