ALASKA BARGE LANDING SYSTEM DESIGN STATEWIDE PHASE 1 Various Locations, Alaska FINAL REPORT JANUARY 2009 Alaska Barge Landing System Design Data Gathering Study and Preliminary Design Planning Various Locations, Statewide, Alaska Phase 1 Prepared for: U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Prepared by: URS Corporation (formerly Tryck Nyman Hayes, Inc.) (W911KB-07-D-004) January 2009 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................ES-1 1.0 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................1 2.0 PURPOSE.....................................................................................................2 3.0 ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT.............................................................2 4.0 STUDY AREA...............................................................................................4 4.1 Regions........................................................................................................4 5.0 STUDY METHOD..........................................................................................6 6.0 SUMMARY OF DATA GATHERED..............................................................8 6.1 Chukchi Sea/Beaufort Sea Region.............................................................9 6.1.1 Point Hope..........................................................................................10 6.1.2 Point Lay.............................................................................................11 6.1.3 Wainwright..........................................................................................12 6.1.4 Barrow.................................................................................................13 6.1.5 Kaktovik..............................................................................................13 6.2 Norton Sound/Bering Sea Region............................................................14 6.2.1 Stebbins..............................................................................................15 6.2.2 Saint Michael......................................................................................15 6.2.3 Unalakleet...........................................................................................16 6.2.4 Shaktoolik...........................................................................................18 6.2.5 Koyuk..................................................................................................18 6.2.6 Elim......................................................................................................19 6.2.7 Golovin................................................................................................20 6.2.8 White Mountain...................................................................................21 6.2.9 Nome...................................................................................................22 6.2.10 Teller....................................................................................................22 6.2.11 Brevig Mission....................................................................................23 6.2.12 Wales...................................................................................................24 6.2.13 Diomede..............................................................................................24 6.2.14 Shishmaref..........................................................................................26 6.2.15 Gambell...............................................................................................27 6.2.16 Savoonga............................................................................................27 6.3 Lower Yukon River and Delta Region......................................................29 6.3.1 Nunam Iqua.........................................................................................30 6.3.2 Alakanuk.............................................................................................31 6.3.3 Emmonak............................................................................................32 6.3.4 Kotlik...................................................................................................33 6.3.5 Mountain Village.................................................................................34 6.3.6 Pitka’s Point........................................................................................36 6.3.7 Saint Mary’s........................................................................................36 6.3.8 Pilot Station........................................................................................38 6.3.9 Marshall...............................................................................................39 6.3.10 Russian Mission.................................................................................40 6.3.11 Holy Cross..........................................................................................41 6.3.12 Anvik ...................................................................................................41 6.3.13 Grayling...............................................................................................42 6.3.14 Shageluk.............................................................................................43 6.4 Middle Yukon River Region......................................................................44 i 6.4.1 Kaltag..................................................................................................44 6.4.2 Nulato..................................................................................................45 6.4.3 Koyukuk..............................................................................................46 6.4.4 Galena.................................................................................................47 6.4.5 Ruby....................................................................................................47 6.4.6 Tanana.................................................................................................48 6.5 Upper Yukon River Region.......................................................................49 6.5.1 Stevens Village...................................................................................50 6.5.2 Beaver.................................................................................................51 6.5.3 Fort Yukon..........................................................................................51 6.5.4 Circle...................................................................................................52 6.5.5 Eagle....................................................................................................53 6.5.6 Eagle Village.......................................................................................53 6.6 Kuskokwim River Delta and Nunivak Island Region..............................54 6.6.1 Platinum..............................................................................................55 6.6.2 Goodnews Bay...................................................................................56 6.6.3 Quinhagak (Kwinhagak) ....................................................................57 6.6.4 Kongiganak.........................................................................................59 6.6.5 Kwigillingok........................................................................................62 6.6.6 Kipnuk.................................................................................................63 6.6.7 Chefornak ...........................................................................................64 6.6.8 Nightmute ...........................................................................................65 6.6.9 Toksook Bay.......................................................................................67 6.6.10 Tununak..............................................................................................68 6.6.11 Newtok ................................................................................................69 6.6.12 Chevak ................................................................................................69 6.6.13 Hooper Bay.........................................................................................71 6.6.14 Scammon Bay.....................................................................................72 6.6.15 Mekoryuk ............................................................................................73 6.7 Lower Kuskokwim River Region..............................................................75 6.7.1 Eek.......................................................................................................76 6.7.2 Tuntutuliak..........................................................................................77 6.7.3 Nunapitchuk........................................................................................78 6.7.4 Kasigluk..............................................................................................79 6.7.5 Napakiak .............................................................................................80 6.7.6 Napaskiak ...........................................................................................81 6.7.7 Oscarville............................................................................................82 6.7.8 Bethel..................................................................................................83 6.7.9 Kwethluk.............................................................................................84 6.7.10 Akiachak .............................................................................................84 6.7.11 Akiak....................................................................................................85 6.7.12 Tuluksak..............................................................................................86 6.8 Middle Kuskokwim River Region.............................................................86 6.8.1 Lower Kalskag....................................................................................87 6.8.2 Upper Kalskag....................................................................................88 6.8.3 Aniak ...................................................................................................88 6.8.4 Chuathbaluk........................................................................................89 6.8.5 Napaimute...........................................................................................90 6.8.6 Crooked Creek....................................................................................90 ii 6.8.7 Red Devil.............................................................................................91 6.8.8 Sleetmute............................................................................................92 6.8.9 Stony River.........................................................................................92 6.9 Upper Kuskokwim River Region..............................................................93 6.9.1 McGrath...............................................................................................94 6.9.2 Nikolai .................................................................................................94 6.10 Bristol Bay Region....................................................................................95 6.10.1 Togiak..................................................................................................96 6.10.2 Twin Hills ............................................................................................96 6.10.3 Dillingham...........................................................................................97 6.10.4 Clark’s Point.......................................................................................98 6.10.5 Naknek ................................................................................................98 6.10.6 South Naknek...................................................................................100 6.10.7 Egegik ...............................................................................................101 6.10.8 Ekwok................................................................................................102 6.10.9 New Stuyahok...................................................................................102 6.11 Kotzebue Sound Region.........................................................................103 6.11.1 Deering..............................................................................................104 6.11.2 Buckland...........................................................................................105 6.11.3 Selawik..............................................................................................106 6.11.4 Kotzebue...........................................................................................108 6.11.5 Kivalina .............................................................................................109 6.12 Kobuk River Region................................................................................110 6.12.1 Noorvik..............................................................................................111 6.12.2 Kiana .................................................................................................112 6.12.3 Ambler...............................................................................................113 6.12.4 Shungnak..........................................................................................114 6.12.5 Kobuk................................................................................................114 6.13 Aleutians Region.....................................................................................115 6.13.1 Atka ...................................................................................................116 6.13.2 Akutan...............................................................................................116 6.13.3 Chignik Lagoon................................................................................117 6.13.4 Chignik Lake.....................................................................................118 6.13.5 Pilot Point .........................................................................................119 6.14 Cook Inlet Region....................................................................................119 6.14.1 Tyonek...............................................................................................120 6.14.2 Port Graham......................................................................................121 7.0 BARGE LANDING IMPROVEMENTS – DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS...125 7.1 Soils..........................................................................................................125 7.2 Permafrost ...............................................................................................125 7.3 Variable Water Levels, Existing Elevations, and Flooding..................126 7.4 Ice.............................................................................................................127 7.5 Availability of Gravel and Other Construction Materials .....................127 7.6 Seismic.....................................................................................................127 7.7 Scour and Stream Bank Stability...........................................................127 7.8 Corrosion.................................................................................................128 7.9 Other Considerations: Siting of Docks and Ramps............................128 8.0 BARGE LANDING IMPROVEMENTS – CONCEPT DESIGN OPTIONS.129 8.1 Mooring Points........................................................................................129 iii 8.1.1 Concrete Deadmen...........................................................................130 8.1.2 Gravity Anchors...............................................................................130 8.1.3 Navy Anchors...................................................................................131 8.1.4 Stake Piles........................................................................................131 8.1.5 Bollards.............................................................................................131 8.2 Staging Areas..........................................................................................131 8.3 Landing Ramps........................................................................................132 8.3.1 Shore-Based Hinged Ramps...........................................................132 8.3.2 Gravel Ramp.....................................................................................133 8.3.3 Concrete Plank Ramp......................................................................134 8.3.4 Mats...................................................................................................135 8.4 Permanent Dock Structures...................................................................135 8.4.1 Cantilever Retaining Walls..............................................................135 8.4.2 Sheetpile Bulkhead – Combination Wall........................................137 8.4.3 Sheetpile Bulkhead – Tied Back Wall.............................................137 8.4.4 Cellular Cofferdam Sheetpile Bulkhead Dock................................138 8.4.5 Pile-Supported Platform Dock.........................................................139 9.0 PRIORITY SITES AND PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS..........................142 10.0 CONSTRUCTION COSTS........................................................................148 10.1 Project Bundling......................................................................................151 11.0 SUMMARY................................................................................................153 12.0 REFERENCES..........................................................................................158 FIGURES Figure 4.1.1: Alaska Barge Landing System Design, Study Regions Map……......5 Figure 6.1.1: Chukchi Sea/Beaufort Sea Region Map…......................................10 Figure 6.1.2: Landing craft on the beach at Point Hope……………………….......11 Figure 6.1.3: Shallow draft barge and push boat used to lighter to shore…….....12 Figure 6.2.1: Norton Sound/Bering Sea Region Map………………………….......14 Figure 6.2.2: The landing areas at Diomede……………………………………......25 Figure 6.2.3: Aerial view of the landing areas near Savoonga……………….......29 Figure 6.3.1: Lower Yukon River and Delta Region Map……………………….....30 Figure 6.3.2: The staging area at Nunum Iqua….................................................31 Figure 6.3.3: The landing and staging areas at Kotlik…………………………......34 Figure 6.3.4: Freight Barge (Landing Craft) at Saint Mary’s Dock………………..37 Figure 6.3.5: Aerial View of the City Dock (Google Earth) ……………………......38 Figure 6.4.1: Middle Yukon River Region Map…………………………………......44 Figure 6.5.1: Upper Yukon River Region Map………………………………….......50 Figure 6.6.1: Kuskokwim River Delta and Nunivak Island Region Map……….....55 Figure 6.6.2: Aerial view of the access to Quinhagak at a low tide …..................58 Figure 6.6.3: Aerial view of the existing road from Quinhagak to Arolik Creek......59 Figure 6.6.4: Kongiganak, the storage area at the main barge landing site…......60 Figure 6.6.5: The staging area at Kongiganak…………………………………........61 Figure 6.6.6: A freight offloading and staging area at Kwigillingok…………….....62 Figure 6.6.7: Staging area at Kipnuk….................................................................64 Figure 6.6.8: The barge landing area at Nightmute……………………………......66 Figure 6.6.9: Former gravel causeway landing at Toksook Bay….......................67 iv Figure 6.6.10: Freight barge at the landing site at Chevak………………………..70 Figure 6.6.11: Erosion of the access road and sheetpile dock area at Chevak....71 Figure 6.6.12: The barge landing area at Scammon Bay.....................................73 Figure 6.6.13: The landing area at Mekoryuk.......................................................74 Figure 6.7.1: Lower Kuskokwim River Region Map..............................................75 Figure 6.7.2: Main fuel and freight landing site at Eek..........................................76 Figure 6.7.3: Aerial view of Nunapitchuk..............................................................78 Figure 6.7.4: The freight barge landing site, Nunapitchuk………………………....79 Figure 6.7.5: Aerial View of Kasigluk....................................................................80 Figure 6.7.6: Freight Barge Landing at Akiak.......................................................86 Figure 6.8.1: Middle Kuskokwim River Region Map.............................................87 Figure 6.9.1: Upper Kuskokwim River Region Map…………………………..........93 Figure 6.10.1: Bristol Bay Region Map.................................................................95 Figure 6.10.2: A dock at South Naknek..............................................................101 Figure 6.11.1: Kotzebue Sound Region Map......................................................104 Figure 6.11.2: The main barge landing and staging area at Selawik..................107 Figure 6.12.1: Kobuk River Region Map.............................................................110 Figure 6.13.1: Aleutians Region Map.................................................................116 Figure 6.13.2: Aerial view of the Akutan dock....................................................117 Figure 6.14.1: Cook Inlet Region Map................................................................120 Figure 6.14.2: The North Foreland Dock near Tyonek.......................................121 Figure 6.14.3: Aerial view of the docking facilities at Port Graham....................122 Figure 8.1.1: Example of Possible Sheet Pile Wharf Construction Sequence....141 TABLES Table 4.1: Alaska Barge Landing System Design Study, Communities List.........6 Table 6.1: Alaska Barge Landing Design Study, Recommended Improvements….………………………………………………….….....122 Table 9.1: Proposed Barge Landing Facility Improvements, Priority Sites…....145 Table 10.1: Proposed Barge Landing Facility Improvements, Estimated Costs……………………………………………………………………..150 Table 10.2: Barge Landing Facility Improvements, Proposed Project Bundles..152 APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Interview Records APPENDIX B: Priority Sites Project Scoring Matrix APPENDIX C: Permafrost Assessment and Preliminary Geotechnical Review APPENDIX D: Barge Landing Facility Improvements—Concept Design Drawings APPENDIX E: Conceptual Site Plans APPENDIX F: Opinion of Probable Construction Cost Estimates v ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS °F degrees Fahrenheit ADOT&PF Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities ANTHC Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium ATV all terrain vehicle ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers AVEC Alaska Village Electric Cooperative BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs BLM Bureau of Land Management CDQ Community Development Quota Commission Denali Commission CVRF Coastal Villages Region Fund DCCED Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development ft Feet Knik Knik Construction LOA length overall M million mph miles per hour NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service NSEDC Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation OPCC Opinion of Probable Construction Costs RO/RO roll-on / roll-off Shannon & Wilson Shannon & Wilson, Inc. TNH Tryck Nyman Hayes, Inc. US United States USACE US Army Engineers, Alaska District VSW Village Safe Water vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction In 2007, the Denali Commission (Commission) partnered with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District (USACE) to develop a Statewide Barge Landing Assessment to analyze barge mooring and fuel/freight transfer needs at Alaska’s coastal and riverside communities. This work was undertaken to further the general findings of three studies that had previously identified barge landing improvements as a critical need in rural Alaska. The Commission provided funding, scoping, and general services to their partner USACE, who provided professional and technical services for the project. USACE hired Tryck Nyman Hayes, Inc. (TNH) to develop the barge landing needs analysis in concert with barge operators, freight and fuel companies, state and federal agencies, and community development groups. The Assessment reflects those findings. The Assessment contains: (cid:131) Catalog of existing facilities (cid:131) List of barge landing infrastructure improvement needs by community (cid:131) An assessment of potential design solutions to address the general categories of infrastructure need (cid:131) Concept-level design drawings for selected designs that address a wide range of site conditions expected in the regions covered by the study (cid:131) Project ranking system used to develop priority needs (cid:131) List of projects that ranked highest in the priority ranking system for a first generation of design and construction (Priority Sites) (cid:131) Site plans showing possible landing site improvements at each of the Priority Sites (cid:131) Estimates of probable construction costs associated with the proposed improvements at each of the Priority Sites This Executive Summary consists of an outline of barge landing needs, design features that address those needs and a table identifying improvements selected for a first generation of projects. For this first phase of the Assessment, the analysis team focused its attention on the Alaska Peninsula, the Yukon, Kuskokwim and Kobuk Rivers, and the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Sea coasts. Barging is the dominant re-supply method for communities throughout these areas of Alaska, and in most cases, the shore side receiving facilities are entirely absent or primitive. DOT&PF has requested that the remaining areas of the state be reviewed in a similar manner so that all community needs are identified in a single document. This work, funded in large part by DOT&PF, is being undertaken in a second phase of work, and the results will be incorporated into the Assessment. The goal of the Assessment is to identify for construction, projects that will improve barge operations, increase worker and environmental safety and/or cumulatively improve fuel and freight delivery costs through system improvements. Shore side ES-1 improvements will also take into consideration other vessels at each community, including subsistence fishing fleets, commercial fleets represented by the Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups, other local fleets, and construction material supply operations. In addition, the Assessment identifies operational improvements that could be implemented by the communities themselves, including most importantly, consolidation of marine fuel header locations to facilitate a single stop/landing for delivering fuel in each community. In some communities, especially at sites exposed to severe weather, or where the landing sites are unconsolidated beach materials and/or are subject to rapidly changing ocean conditions, barge operations will continue as they do now to land when and where practical, holding firm through tug maneuvering. In most communities however, some level of infrastructure improvements are both practical and cost-effective. For example, the Assessment illustrates that relatively inexpensive mooring points were identified as the greatest need in most communities. The Assessment outlines improvements that barge operators and other users have identified for each community via an interview process. In addition, the study prioritizes the sites to identify those projects that would be suitable for a first generation of capital improvements (referred to as Priority Sites in this report). Conceptual landing facility improvement designs, site plans and associated construction cost estimates have been completed and are included to facilitate discussions with community and user groups, and to prepare a capital projects list for Commission funding. Background Fuel is the primary product delivered to rural communities. Deck freight, delivered along with fuel orders or separately on regular scheduled barges, is the second highest volume of products delivered. Deck freight is generally delivered as steel shipping containers and break-bulk cargo (loose non-containerized material such as long lengths of pipe and timber, vehicles, palletized cargo, etc.). The third key delivery product is construction materials delivered by chartered barges. These products are generally associated with community construction projects like schools, fuel tank farms, health clinics and airports. In addition, commercial fishing vessels and tenders operate in the area of barge landing sites. In general, barge operators and communities report that the larger communities such as Nome, Bethel, and St. Mary’s have sufficient barge landing facilities in place and are in relatively good shape, with the exception that maintenance upgrades are needed at some sites. The barge operators also report that in general, the communities on the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers have the most difficult landings, and are most in need of improvements. Especially problematic are those that have marginal permafrost, soft soils and high erosion rates, and low-lying villages with boardwalks and utilities close to the shoreline that get in the way of offloading operations. The report finds that improvements at these sites would generally consist of gravel causeways or ramps, docks, stabilized staging pads, and/or barge mooring points. ES-2