The Cape Blossom port project near Kotzebue will receive about $2.4 million in funding from the Federal Department of Transportation through the Port Infrastructure Development Program. If developed, the new port would be the first deep-water port above the Arctic circle in the country.
The City of Kotzebue announced in a press release today that most of that money will be used to conduct planning and feasibility studies.
City Manager Tessa Baldwin called the funding “a huge step for our region.”
The Cape Blossom Port funding comes from a $72 million federal grant for Alaska maritime infrastructure split between seven projects statewide.
This is just the latest step in the long project, after half a century of studying what it would mean to develop a deep-water port there. They still need to build a road to connect to the port site. Construction was completed on a four mile road connecting Kotzebue to Sadie Creek this summer but a bridge across the creek and an additional seven miles of road is needed to connect to the proposed port site. Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced $27 million in funding through the The Alaska Statewide Transportation Infrastructure Plan (STIP) for the remainder of the road.
