JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON -- JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON – Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District will host a public meeting Tuesday, June 27 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time in Utqiagvik at the North Slope Borough Assembly Room for anyone interested in learning about the Barrow Alaska coastal erosion project.
The purpose of this event is to provide a general project status update on the ongoing design phase. USACE will provide a presentation with expected timelines and a discussion about beach access followed by a question-and-answer session.
The project is anticipated to begin construction in the summer of 2024. The Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act is providing about $364.3 million of federal funding for the project.
The community, previously known as Barrow, is the political and economic hub of the North Slope Borough and provides important services to surrounding villages in northern Alaska. The community experiences frequent and severe coastal storms, resulting in flooding and erosion that threaten public health and safety, the economy of the community, critical infrastructure valued at more than $1 billion, access to subsistence areas as well as cultural and historical resources. The project will reduce the risk of storm damage to about five miles of coastline by constructing a rock revetment at the bluff area, building a protective berm and raising Stevenson Street.
USACE published the final feasibility report in 2019. The document is available at: https://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Library/Reports-and-Studies/. At the top of the left column under “Documents Available for Review,” expand the “Civil Works” tab.
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Release no. 23-008