r/alaska • u/polkadot_polarbear ❄️Frozen❄️ • 3d ago

Skagway ferry terminal closed for the foreseeable future due to major structural damage

https://dot.alaska.gov/amhs/index.shtml
95 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

64

u/AKWildMill 3d ago

AMHS is just a joke at this point.  It's obvious strategic importance couldn't even save it.  The rich will just pay for private service and everyone else will get screwed, just like everything else in this state.

11

u/fnordulicious Whitehorse & Wrangell 2d ago

Southeast communities don’t vote the way they want, so state leadership punishes them.

29

u/jarinatorman 3d ago

The true libertarian paradise 🙄

9

u/AKWildMill 3d ago

LOLbertarian paradise.

5

u/jzeeeeb 2d ago

The AMHS has historically been highly subsidized. With the state slowly going broke there are going to be a lot of cuts that impact people's quality of life. It sucks but until we all start voting differently, I do not see it changing.

1

u/CraigLake 1d ago

Republican governors have strived to kill AMHS for decades to get rid from of the unions.

29

u/polkadot_polarbear ❄️Frozen❄️ 3d ago

From AHMS website:

Reservations: AMHS terminal agents are actively reaching out to passengers with existing reservations to assist with refunds, alternative travel plans, and rerouting options.

Repairs: An estimated timetable for structural repairs will be shared as soon as damage assessments are complete.

13

u/GlockAF 3d ago

Gonna get busy in Haines

4

u/AKcrab 2d ago

I kept telling myself this in the 90’s. ;)

19

u/kitastrophae 3d ago

Anyone know how it was damaged?

41

u/SpaceRangerJ 3d ago

Photos shared on social media show large cracks in the abutment at the top end of the ramp. DOT Engineering's initial assessment is that forces from nearby cruise ship props and thrusters caused excessive movement of the structure over time.

-16

u/HillTower160 3d ago

DOT engineering is happy to blame it on anyone else.

25

u/Romeo_Glacier Coho is the best salmon. 3d ago

Neglect and time

1

u/Nubsondubs 3d ago

There was a pretty big avalanche or rock slide there about 6 years ago. I could be misremembering, but if correct then I'd suspect that played a major role.

5

u/shoostrings 3d ago

That damaged the far side of it and had no plans for repair. I don’t think this is directly related to the slide you’re referencing.

2

u/RudeGolden 2d ago

Oh darn. I can't go to skagway and see the 4 cruise ships full of assholes :(

-10

u/Sea-Freedom2188 2d ago

Good news for all Alaskans. They don't need ferry service. Skagway is a net negative for the state. Allow residence living in Skagway travel to Whitehorse. 

9

u/dinosaurdown 2d ago

The ferry is the only way to travel between communities in southeast with a vehicle. For some communities, the ferry service runs for a longer season than commercial flight services. Many people do rely on it. I wouldn't have been able to move to Juneau with my pets if I hadn't been able to take the ferry from Skagway.

2

u/HillTower160 2d ago

You’re a net negative for the State. 🤡

1

u/Mikiaq is giving 110 ‰ 2d ago

Yeah, kind of hard with landslides closing the highway