Site work for a water / sewer project in Dubuque, Iowa. Conceptual plans call for site work for a water / sewer project.

The proposed project is to expand the existing riverfront docking facility to accommodate large excursion boats in the Port of Dubuque. The City's proposed infrastructure plan is to construct a new pier wall landing platform near the bottom of Riverwalk Stair No. 2. A portion of Stair No. 2 will be reconstructed to connect to the new landing platform. The new landing platform will be connected to the Riverwalk by an ADA compliant ramped walkway. The excursion boats will moor against new pipe pile clusters and will access land from floating platform docks which will connect to the pier wall landing platform via ADA compliant gangway. The expanded docking facility will accommodate excursion boats 400 feet in length or greater. It is forecasted that excursion boat traffic on the Mississippi River will increase and a new docking facility will create an opportunity for significant tourism growth in Dubuque. Increased tourism will create employment in retail, dining, ground transportation, and excursions to local attractions, while other tourism-related sectors will benefit as a result. The City has been approached by Viking River Cruise Lines to become a destination port when Viking begins to operate Mississippi River Cruises in FY 2022. Viking has offered to participate in the construction and maintenance costs of a new docking facility to accommodate their boats. Viking advises that their first season in 2021 they would have one boat making 19 stops in Dubuque between July - October, with 385 passengers on each cruise, for a total of 7,350 passengers. In 2022, they would have two boats for a total of 38 stops and 14,700 passengers. Viking says they will keep building boats until the market says stop, with a maximum of 6 Upper Mississippi River boats. With 6 boats there would be a boat docked in Dubuque 6 days a week for 4 months which is approximately 100 days docked in Dubuque x 385 passengers = 38,500 passengers. The City will receive $1 per passenger and the annual operating expenses includes installation and removal of the riverside dock and gangway. Travel Dubuque advises that the average daily expenditure of passengers from boats that currently dock in Dubuque is estimated at $122 per day, or $4,697,000 with 38,500 passengers, but they have heard estimates as high as $500 per day, or $19,250,000 for Viking Cruise passengers. All passengers would be provided a ticket to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. As of August 25, 2021, this project is currently in the FY 2022-2026 CIP. Information regarding design team and contractor selection has not been disclosed. A firm timeline has not been established; however, construction is scheduled for Fiscal Year 2022. *Project information has been obtained through a public capital improvement plan (CIP). A CIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the CIP often evolves based on funding availability and the project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.