The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District received authorization and funding for an array of critical construction projects and activities that will contribute to the state’s water resources and help boost the economy. Following the recent enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the Alaska District’s Civil Works Program was rewarded with a sizeable share of the available funding that covers the federal cost share of the projects.
One of the major civil works projects in Alaska that received funding allocations from the infrastructure act includes the Kenai River Bluffs Erosion Project. A protective berm along the Kenai Bluffs is funded at about $28 million to cover the preconstruction, engineering, and design phase as well as the construction phase.
City of Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel told KSRM’s “Sound Off”:
“What that means is that moves us closer to getting this project done. Governor Dunleavy and his budget had allocated $6.5 million on the state side for this project also. It’s incredible how much this project has moved forward just in the last couple of months. A year ago, council appropriated $1 million to HDL for design. We’ve got 35% drawings that will be going out to council members for review. We’re hoping to get this project started in 2023.”
In 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published the Kenai Bluffs Bank Stabilization Section 116 Feasibility Study that recommended the establishment of a protective berm at the bluff toe. The project will provide a berm that stretches out about 5,000 feet along the base of the eroding bluff. It will require the placement of about 42,400 cubic yards of armor rock, 33,200 cubic yards of crushed rock, and 13,100 cubic yards of gravel base. The new infrastructure is designed to shield the lower portion of the bluff from storm damage and prevent the removal of accumulated sediment between the toe and the berm.
The local non-federal sponsor is the City of Kenai, which is covering a portion of the costs for this federally constructed coastal storm risk management project.
The height of the bluffs range between 55 and 70-feet, while the face is receding about three feet per year. Section 116 of the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides USACE the authority to carry out structural and non-structural projects for coastal erosion, storm damage prevention and reduction as well as ice and glacial damage in Alaska.