Whittier and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities have opened a 20 year transportation draft for public input through July 24. The plan arrives as the small Prince William Sound port expects 103 cruise ship calls in 2026, more than twice its 2024 total.
The proposal does not change this summer’s tunnel schedule, cruise transfers or parking rules. It instead ranks future projects for the single lane Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, cruise terminal connections, pedestrian routes, shuttles, parking and signs, giving residents, operators and travelers a limited window to comment before officials prepare a final plan later in 2026.
- Comment deadline: The official Whittier Moves page accepts survey, email and phone feedback through July 24, 2026.
- Cruise growth: Scheduled calls rose from 46 in 2024 to 73 in 2025 and about 103 in 2026.
- Near term ideas: The draft ranks wayfinding, cruise dock shuttle connections, pedestrian improvements and more tunnel staging lanes as high impact, low effort work.
- Major projects: Longer range proposals include tunnel ventilation, lighting and safe house upgrades, accessible sidewalks and a connected path network.
- Current travelers: Existing cruise line, railroad, transfer provider and tunnel instructions remain the authority for a booked trip.
The public comment window is open now
The official Whittier Moves project page says the draft Transportation Master Plan and a separate Safety Action Plan are available for review through July 24. Feedback can be submitted through a short online survey, by email or by phone to the project team.
The plan is being developed by Alaska DOT and the City of Whittier as a framework for transportation investment, grant applications and the city’s broader master plan. Its recommendations use short, medium and long implementation windows, but the draft does not promise that every listed project will be funded or built.
Alaska Public Media reported on July 16 that officials expect to finish the plan this year. That current reporting also confirms the open comment window and connects the planning effort to rapidly rising cruise traffic, while the official draft remains the source for the underlying counts and recommendations.
Cruise calls have more than doubled since 2024
The June 2026 draft master plan records 46 cruise calls and 240,800 cruise passengers in 2024. It lists 73 calls and 296,300 passengers in 2025, a 59 percent increase in calls and a 23 percent increase in passenger volume.
About 103 calls are scheduled for 2026, according to the same document. The draft attributes much of the change to the Glacier Creek Cruise Ship Terminal, which opened at Head of the Bay and expanded Whittier’s capacity to as many as three cruise ships on one day.
The new terminal did not remove Whittier’s physical constraints. Most road traffic still uses the 13,300 foot Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, a single lane route shared in scheduled turns by vehicles and trains, while arriving passengers also move among cruise docks, rail service, buses and the town’s compact harbor area.
The plan estimates that an average 3,300 passenger ship can generate roughly 75 motorcoaches, 750 train passengers and additional taxi, rental car and private vehicle movements. Those modes converge in a community with about 272 year round residents and around 700,000 annual visitors.
The draft identifies the most immediate friction
Parking, signs and pedestrian movement appear repeatedly in the plan. The review found that parking demand can exceed supply during busy periods, payment rules can be confusing and specialized spaces for long stays, trailers, buses and shuttles are not always clearly organized.
Visitors arriving by cruise ship, train, ferry or tunnel can also encounter unclear directions between the docks, harbor, rail platform and town. The draft says fragmented sidewalks, incomplete crossings and poor connections around the pedestrian tunnel create added difficulty for people with mobility impairments.
The tunnel is a separate bottleneck because its traffic moves in timed directions. The plan estimates the busiest periods can reach about 170 vehicles per direction per hour against an assumed capacity of 180, leaving little room for unexpected surges, emergency movements or poorly staged buses and private vehicles.
Quick wins focus on movement and orientation
Several proposals are ranked as high impact and low effort. They include paving key Head of the Bay terminal roads, improving harbor pedestrian access, adding marked crossings, installing clearer wayfinding and designating shuttle connections among the cruise docks, harbor, train, trailheads, airport and town.
The draft also proposes more lanes in the Whittier side tunnel staging area to reduce congestion and improve emergency response times. These are planning recommendations rather than active construction notices, so a traveler should not expect a new lane or shuttle solely because it appears in the document.
More expensive projects include upgrades to tunnel ventilation, lighting and safe houses, a larger visitor information function, accessible sidewalk reconstruction and a connected path network between the Glacier Creek terminal area, ferry road and the Harbor Triangle. The plan labels these as high impact and high effort.
| Plan item | What it means now |
|---|---|
| July 24 comment deadline | Residents, operators and visitors can submit evidence about current access problems before the draft is finalized. |
| Shuttle connection proposal | No new public shuttle is guaranteed; the plan recommends pursuing a linked local service and grant funding. |
| Tunnel staging lanes | The plan favors more organized vehicle queuing, but the current timed tunnel operation remains in effect. |
| Wayfinding and crossings | Officials have identified confusing routes and pedestrian gaps as high priority improvements. |
| Tunnel capacity upgrades | Ventilation, lighting and safe house work is a major project concept, not a published construction schedule. |
- For 2026 passengers: Keep following the booked cruise line, transfer company, Alaska Railroad and tunnel schedule because the draft creates no immediate operating change.
- For independent transfers: Allow margin around the one lane tunnel and confirm parking or pickup instructions rather than assuming a future recommendation is already available.
- For accessibility planning: Ask the cruise line or transfer provider about the current route between the terminal, vehicle and rail platform; proposed accessible paths are not finished facilities.
- For public input: Submit specific observations before July 24, especially recurring trouble with signs, crossings, parking, shuttle staging or tunnel queues.
What travelers should watch next
The next formal milestone is the final transportation plan expected later in 2026. After that, individual projects will still need an owner, design, funding, permits and a construction schedule before they change the experience on the ground.
Travelers planning an embarkation can use Deep Arrival’s Whittier cruise port guide for the current tunnel, rail and transfer picture. The new draft is most useful as a map of what officials believe needs to improve, not as a replacement for live trip instructions.
The cruise count makes the planning pressure measurable. Whittier is preparing for about 103 calls in 2026 while every road traveler still depends on one timed surface link, so even modest changes to staging, signs, shuttles and pedestrian routes could matter during peak ship days.
When does public comment close on the Whittier transport plan?
The official project page says comments on the draft Transportation Master Plan and Safety Action Plan are open through July 24, 2026.
Does the draft change the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel schedule?
No. It recommends future studies and improvements, but travelers must continue using the current published tunnel schedule and operator instructions.
How many cruise calls does Whittier expect in 2026?
The June draft lists approximately 103 scheduled calls, compared with 73 in 2025 and 46 in 2024.
Which improvements are ranked as quick wins?
High impact, low effort recommendations include wayfinding, pedestrian crossings, shuttle connections, selected road work and additional tunnel staging lanes.
When will the proposed projects be built?
The draft does not provide a construction commitment for every recommendation. Projects will require separate funding, design and delivery decisions after the plan is finalized.
