The North Douglas boat launch will soon reopen to the public after being closed for more than two weeks due to damage to its parking lot.
In mid-January, Juneau Docks and Harbors staff closed off a portion of the launch’s parking lot on North Douglas Highway that provides access to the boat ramp. That’s after they discovered a large sinkhole that developed near the entrance.
Matt Creswell, Juneau’s harbormaster, said the closure was made out of an abundance of caution.
“Luckily, this did happen in January instead of in the middle of the busy summer boating season,” he said. “The use is fairly minimal out at North Douglas. However, there are some die-hards that are out there quite often, and it’s used as a cabin access point as well.”
Sonny Mauricio, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said the damage was likely caused by erosion to a culvert pipe that runs beneath the highway, which the state maintains. The state is handling the sinkhole repairs.
He said the department plans to temporarily repair the damage and reopen the launch to the public by the end of this week. He said it’s still unclear how extensive the damage is to the area.
“We plan on going out this week to cover it with big metal plates that will stay there until the spring allows us to go out and do some more permanent repairs,” he said.
Mauricio said the department will share details about a more permanent fix in the coming months.
