The City of Kenai announced on Friday, Dec. 1 that the US Army Corps of Engineers had released the Kenai Bluff Bank Stabilization Project for bid. Any qualified contractor interested in bidding on the project is able to submit a bid to construct the protective rock berm along the north bank of the Kenai River.
In a press release, the city said that reaching this point in the project represented decades of work and commitment by Kenai residents, the Kenai Mayor and City Council members and former mayors and City Council members, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan and former Alaska Congressional Delegations, Governor Mike Dunleavy and former governors of Alaska, current and former Kenai Peninsula legislators, and current and former City Managers and City staff.
Kenai Public Works Director, Scott Curtin, said the fact that the long-awaited project, which has been discussed by City of Kenai officials for over 60 years, is fairly surreal. “I’m quite excited actually. This has been talked about for many years. I talked to some of the folks have been around here for many years and they still can’t believe that we’re actually here today.”
The project bidding period was opened by the Army Corps of Engineers on Nov. 29, and will close in one month on Dec. 29. According to Curtin, the Corps will be handling the process of selecting a bidder.
As for the actual bluff stabilization design, the project will be substantial. “This is essentially a rock revetment wall that coming in from the mouth of the Kenai River on the northern side of the riverbank extending 5000 feet upriver,” said Curtin. “It’s roughly 12 feet tall in a flat top pyramid shaped structure, but it’s substantial and the intent of that is to protect some of the prime real estate in Kenai.”
The project was allocated funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation of 2022, and the City received additional funding from the State of Alaska to reach sufficient match funding to support the project.
Discussion of erosion of the bluff at the mouth of the Kenai River can be found in City Council Meeting Minutes dating back to 1963, and a project to stabilize the Kenai bluff has been recognized as the City’s number one capital priority for over 30 years. The description of the project that is now released for bid is to construct a protective rock berm along the north bank of the Kenai River, protecting existing structures, infrastructure, and cultural resources.
Construction of this berm will create a condition that allows the bluff to stabilize over time.
