The Alaska Department
of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), in cooperation with
the Alaska Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), is proposing
road and boardwalk improvements in the community of Selawik. The project consists
of a new landfill road, and reconstructed or new boardwalks in the town. Construction
is planned for 2006.
Selawik is located on the Selawik River, approximately 10 miles upstream from
its mouth at Selawik Lake. The community is about 90 air miles east of Kotzebue
and 670 miles northwest of Anchorage, at approximately 66.60° North Latitude
and 160.01° West Longitude. (Sec. 20, T014N, R006W, Kateel River Meridian;
USGS Selawik C-3 Quad.) Selawik is located in the Kotzebue Recording District
(Figure 1).
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Existing Condition
Selawik is located on a broad tundra floodplain, with two forks of the Selawik
River flowing through the town. The community is not accessible overland other
than by snowmachines during winter. The landfill adjacent to town is an unpermitted
landfill, and a new, permitted landfill is being constructed.
Due to the fill required and the lack of appropriate surface material available
locally, a road network is not feasible in the community. Therefore, a network
of raised boardwalks serve as the primary means of transportation within town.
These boardwalks serve pedestrian, bicycle, and 4-wheel all-terrain vehicle
and snowmachine traffic.
The following issues will be addressed in this project:
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Many of the boardwalks in Selawik are degraded and in need of repair or replacement. In some cases, there are no existing boardwalks to homes. The existing conditions of the boardwalks present safety hazards in some areas. |
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Creation of a new, permitted landfill further out from the village requires an access road to reach the new landfill. In addition, the landfill road will require road access to the barge landing in order to transport fill material to the construction site. |
| Proposed
Action The proposed action consists of the following: |
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Construct or renovate approximately 6,000 - 7,000 linear feet of boardwalk throughout the village, based on the priority areas determined during public scoping (Figure 2). |
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Construct a new 5,850-foot landfill road, approximately 12 feet wide, using imported fill material and a gravel surface layer (Figure 3). |
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Fill material for this project is expected to come primarily from the existing material site adjacent to the 'Spud Farm', 13 miles north of the village of Selawik (Figure 4). |
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present ADOT&PF does not anticipate any significant environmental
impacts or unusual circumstances associated with the proposed project
(see Appendix A). To ensure that all factors are considered in the environmental document, your comments are requested by September 25, 2005. In addition to identifying any concerns and/or issues your organization might have with the proposed project, the links below identify agency specific information that is requested. Please click on the organization that you represent. This will take you to a list of questions specific to your purview and a link that allows you to provide comments directly to our environmental consultant, via email. |
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Appendix A |
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Figure 1 - Project Location |
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Figure 2 - Proposed Landfill Road Options |
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Figure 3 - Proposed Boardwalk Improvements |
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Figure 4 - Material Site and Probable Haul Routes |
