Photo Courtesy Crowley Fuels
Crowley expects the new dock to stand ready to serve the community for the next 30 to 50 years.
Dixon, project manager of Crowley’s facilities engineering department, said. “In this case, the dock is pri- vately owned and operated by Crow- ley, but it is also used by commercial and contract carriers. That puts the responsibility on Crowley to main- tain infrastructure that is a rare hy- brid: privately owned, but effectively a public good.” Faced with the growing danger of a catastrophic failure of its dock, Crowley Fuels, with consultation from PND Engineers, started evalu- ating options in 2017. As part of the planning process, Crowley met with local government, Alaska Native or- ganizations, community members and other groups that could poten- tially be impacted by the project. “I really appreciate Crowley and their outreach. Not every entity will put in the effort to get community input,” Whiting said. “The dock be- longs to Crowley, but it is part of the community.” Safety — namely visibility and emergency access — was a top con- cern voiced by community mem- bers. In response, Crowley erected
40-foot light poles with three in- dustrial-strength LED light fixtures to illuminate the ends of the dock. Ladders were also installed in three areas along the dock face, providing safe access to and from the water. Protecting the waters and wildlife of the Kotzebue Sound was also a top priority for Crowley. “The Kotzebue Sound is extreme- ly important to the communities on its borders. 70% of the food people hunt, fish and gather comes from the Sound. It is a critical part of peo- ple’s way of life and nutrition,” said Alex Whiting, director of the Native Village of Kotzebue’s Environmental Program. Before construction could begin, Crowley worked with PND Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to form a marine mammal management and mitiga- tion plan to minimize negative im- pacts. The multi-million-dollar new dock follows the same footprint as the current one, while building over it, expanding out by 30 feet, and se- curing it by driving 40-foot-long
sheet piles into the sea floor. “That makes it a very strong structure,” Dixon said. “When you have the sheets driven deeply enough into the seafloor, the current isn’t going to get under the structure to undermine it.” Building the dock 30 feet out into deeper water allows access for larger vessels, which “improves operation- al flexibility for Crowley, and opens up opportunities to the community for future economic development,” Dixon said. The expanded design also creates new space on the upland side of the dock, providing additional area for cargo operations, and a wider buf- fer to separate vehicular and pedes- trian access from Crowley’s working area, enhancing safety for all. Crowley wrapped up the dock expansion project on schedule in mid-October and expects the new dock to stand ready to serve the com- munity for the next 30 to 50 years. “It’s an investment Crowley is making back in the community,” Dixon said. “We’re here for a long time.”
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April 2021
The Alaska Miner
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