THE SKAGWAY NEWS.

Landslide mitigation tests anticipated by April

By Melinda Munson

Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata is looking forward to a bustling tourist season, pleased with the mitigation efforts on Railroad Dock meant to curb the landslides occurring with increased frequency since last summer.

“Anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not much of an optimist, but I am a realist,” he said. “I firmly believe that we will host a record number of cruise passengers in 2023. If not, we will be close.”

If Cremata is correct, this is good news for the mayor who sells tours during the summer, and the town of Skagway which suffered through two years of COVID-19 and a partial season recovery cut short when Railroad Dock was deemed unsafe for full use.

Following the release of the municipality funded “Railroad Dock Landslide Initial Site Trip Visit Report” (July 2022) by geological firm Shannon & Wilson, the forward berth was shut down.

Regarding the North Slide area, the report states: “It is our opinion that the slide mass will eventually fail and the consequences of such failure will be catastrophic in nature with significant risks to life and property. The timing of such a failure is difficult to predict but accelerating movement rates suggest that the failure event is approaching.”

Long-term mitigation of the mountain that looms over Railroad Dock is estimated at $40 million. The municipality applied for a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities

(see page 3-Landslide)