Nome to host U.S. first deepwater Arctic port in $548 million expansion

Nome, Alaska, a town of about 3,700 on the Bering Sea, is set to become the nation’s first deepwater Arctic port under a $548-million-and-counting expansion overseen locally by Port Director Joy Baker, officials say. The project moved from planning to procurement last year when the Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $399.4 million construction contract for the first phase; crews are to begin demolishing the existing dock this summer.

The expansion would deepen the port from 22 feet to 40 feet, allowing every type of U.S. military vessel except aircraft carriers to dock, and supporters link the push to President Trump’s wider Arctic ambitions, which the article says are longstanding and include past efforts related to Greenland.

Nome is reachable only by air outside a few months when boats can pass through, and the town has a history of boom-and-bust cycles from earlier gold rushes. Local leaders and residents say the expansion could double or triple the population and bring jobs, but also raise housing and service challenges: Nome must cover 10 percent of construction costs and all port-related infrastructure such as roads and sewer lines, and city officials do not yet know how much that will cost.

Residents and tribal members express uncertainty about economic and environmental effects, including worries about subsistence lifestyles, pollution, and impacts on fishing and migratory wildlife; about 86 percent of the surrounding population identifies as Indigenous.

Key Topics

Politics, Nome, Army Corps, Deepwater Port, Donald Trump, Bering Sea