Climate change is opening up the Arctic, and a $600 million-plus expansion will make Nome on Alaska's western coast the nation’s first deep-water Arctic port
This photo provided by the City of Nome shows the inner harbor of the Port of Nome, Alaska, on Aug. 11, 2017, where goods at that arrive at the port are then prepared for shipment to villages throughout the region. Shipping lanes that were once clogged with ice for much of the year along Alaska's western and northern coasts have relented thanks to global warming, and the nation's first deep water Arctic port should be operational in Nome by the end of the decade.
It's a prospect that excites business owners and officials in Nome, but concerns others who worry about the impact of additional tourists and vessel traffic on the environment and animals Alaska Natives depend on for subsistence. It wasn’t, but the interaction inspired Bioff to create her own line of waterproof jackets styled like kuspuks. She now sells to tourists and locals alike from her own Naataq Gear gift store, a retail spot in the post office building, where about 20 Alaska Native artists offer ivory carvings, beadwork or paintings through consignment.
“We’re going to be the first deep-draft Arctic port but probably not going to be the last,” Nome Mayor John Handeland said. The existing port causeway was completed in the mid-1980s. The expansion will be completed in three phases and effectively double its size. The first part of the project is funded by $250 million in federal infrastructure money with another $175 million from the Alaska Legislature. Field work is expected to begin next year.Workers will dredge a new basin 40 feet deep, allowing large cruises ships, cargo vessels, and every U.S.
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