Sticking with its schedule, Alaska Marine Lines has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a barge landing at the 6-Mile property the borough is working to develop as a new industrial site.

The application details a 120-foot-long, 24-foot-wide steel ramp extending out from a concrete abutment at the north end of the property, with five breasting dolphins in water about 30 feet deep for barges to tie up while loading and unloading.

A “lifting frame” supported by 10 24-inch-diameter steel piles in the water would raise and lower the ramp to align with the barge as the tide moves.

In total, the project would include 35 steel piles, the largest at 36 inches in diameter.

The work would include dredging 4,400 cubic yards of rock previously used as fill at the site and placing 10,500 cubic yards of new fill, mostly armor rock along the waterfront to protect the slope.

The barge loading and offloading operation and freight yard would replace the downtown site which barge companies used for almost 50 years before the borough shut down the ramp in 2025 due to concerns over the structural integrity of the deteriorating steel.

AML and Samson Tug and Barge continue to use the freight yard on the downtown waterfront but have moved their barge operations to temporary quarters at the Marine Service Center until a new facility is ready.

AML expects the permitting process will stretch into next year. “Once the design and cost estimates have been determined, we will be able to make a final decision on moving ahead with the project and what the timeline would look like,” Ryan Dixon, media director for Lynden, the parent company for AML, said earlier this summer.

The company requires an Army Corps permit for the offshore work, particularly the dredging and fill.

Public comments on the Army Corps permit are due by Sept. 7.

The borough assembly in June unanimously approved a 40-year property lease for the new marine freight terminal on about 1.25 acres. The lease rate is $1 per year, recognizing the value to the community of a new barge landing.

Under the lease, AML assumes all financial responsibility for building, maintaining and operating the barge ramp. The company will cover utilities and insurance and pay property taxes.

The downtown facility, which is closed, is owned by the borough, which was responsible for maintenance.