Skagway state ferry terminal closed indefinitely
Published 10:30 am Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Skagway will be indefinitely without state ferry service after cracks were discovered in its ferry terminal this month.
Engineers first discovered cracks in concrete supports under the vehicle and passenger transfer bridges Aug. 13. The dock was closed two days later, after the M/V Hubbard completed its Saturday docking at the facility, the state’s Department of Transportation said.
A barge and crane from Haines and a team of divers headed to Skagway to assess the current damage, Marine Highway spokesperson Gabe Strong said. The Department of Transportation does not yet know the cause or extent of the damage.
The most recent facility condition report conducted by the Department was in 2021. In that report, the substructure of the facility was assessed to be in “poor” condition, a rating corresponding to “advanced corrosion, deterioration, cracking or chipping,” according to the standardized National Bridge Inventory rating system. The deck, superstructure, and mooring components of the facility were rated one point higher on the ten-point scale, corresponding to “fair” condition.
There will be minor impacts to the scheduling of sailings in and out of Haines. State ferries currently sail from Juneau, to Haines, to Skagway, then back to Haines. With the Skagway stop now out of commission, ferries will sit at the dock in Haines for the time they would have spent sailing to Skagway, Strong said. That will keep arrival and departure times out of Haines the same as they were prior to the Skagway closure.
Haines has also seen increased traffic as a result of the Skagway closure. The Skagway Borough has put out information to the public advising individuals who would’ve otherwise put a vehicle on the ferry in Skagway to drive to and board in Haines instead. The other travel options out of Skagway — Alaska Seaplanes, the Haines Skagway Fast Ferry, and the Alaska Fjordlines — do not transport cars.
The Fjordlines and the fast ferry are still running on standard operating schedules, though the fast ferry’s Selby Long said, anecdotally, there’s been a jump in calls from customers hoping to make the trip to Haines.
Borough tourism director Reba Hylton reported the same, describing the visitor center as a sort of “travel triage center” in recent days.
Hylton reported an uptick in foot traffic and phone calls to tourism staff asking for help shifting travel arrangements and piecing together ferry schedules that had been set to sail through Skagway.
This story initially appeared in The Chilkat Valley News.
