The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has opened a bidding process to select a contractor and design approach for addressing glacial flooding risks in Juneau, Alaska, despite officials acknowledging they have not yet determined what the specific project will entail. Brig. Gen. Clete Goetz announced during a press briefing that the selection process will conclude by the end of the year and compared the approach to the television program “Shark Tank,” with interested parties submitting technical proposals that will be evaluated through pitch presentations.
The Request for Qualifications published Friday specifies that the solution must prevent Suicide Basin from rising above 1,100 feet in elevation and limit flood discharges to 1,000 cubic feet per second. The basin reached approximately 1,345 feet this year before a release occurred. Officials have stated that the accelerated timeline invokes President Donald Trump’s “Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork” initiative, which aims to reduce permitting delays and administrative requirements for Army Corps projects. Republican U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski participated in the briefing and endorsed the faster approach.
When asked how officials can claim the project will be cheaper and faster without knowing its specifics, Goetz stated that appropriate design and analysis will be conducted to ensure the solution works safely. He noted that medium-term solutions previously being evaluated, including a steel wall potentially costing up to $1.5 billion, have been shelved in favor of the new long-term planning approach. Local mining companies have been mentioned as prospective partners given their expertise in drilling and tunneling, with one mining official previously proposing a traditional drill-and-blast drainage tunnel.
An industry day briefing is scheduled for next Friday, with a proposal deadline of September 4. Pitch presentations are tentatively scheduled for late September, with a preferred bidder selection targeted for October 7 and a final project award agreement expected by December 11. Many residents in flood-risk areas have expressed concern that previous proposals would take too long and cost too much given the annual flooding problems the region has experienced in recent years.
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