More than a boardwalk, safe travel for everyone   Project: Design of a new boardwalk system.

Kwigillingok is a traditional Yup’ik Eskimo village lying on the western shore of Kuskokwim Bay on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. At roughly the size of the state of Oregon, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is one of the largest river deltas in the world. There are few roads through the tundra here and it’s one of the most pristine wilderness areas left on the planet.

 

Residents practice a traditional subsistence lifestyle in this sub-arctic, roadless region, and they depend on a boardwalk as a vital artery of transportation throughout the community. What happens, then, when the old boardwalk is failing and quickly becoming a hazard for the entire community? You call DEHE.

           

DEHE Engineers completed a nine-month design project in three months, ensuring a fast-track schedule to boardwalk construction. Along the way they held community meetings to secure vital community input and direction, readjusted the design to reflect an eroding riverbank and secured additional right of way and bridge permitting.

 

Now Kwigillingok is poised to begin construction on a new boardwalk and a future with a safe transit system throughout the community.