Definition: What is a boardroad?
Often, grant providers imagine that a “boardwalk” could be a tourist destination alongside the water with shops. For much of Alaska, the term boardroad is vastly different, representing a piece of vital infrastructure that connects a community in every way that a street, highway, or sidewalk might elsewhere.
Boardroad:
A public-use, elevated roadway with a board surface providing physical access to land, facilities, or public services. A boardroad is used by pedestrians and/or nonmotorized vehicles and/or low-speed motorized equipment. A boardroad consists of a deck and supporting structural elements.
Boardroad border:
The area immediately next to a boardroad where clearing or modification addresses hazards to boardroad use. The boardroad border is the right-of-way; OR immediately adjacent area on either side of the boardroad, extending no more than the width of the boardroad.
Inventory: Is your boardroad community listed?
Communities that have boardroads:
Do you see a community that is missing? Do you see incorrect information? Please let us know at boardroads@akml.org
| Akutan, AK | Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK | Petersburg Borough, AK |
| Atmautluak, AK | Ketchikan, AK | Petersburg, AK |
| Bethel, AK | King Cove, AK | Port Alexander |
| Chefornak, AK | King Salmon, AK | Port Lions, AK |
| Chenega, AK | Kipnuk, AK | Quinhagak, AK |
| Chevak, AK | Kongiganak, AK | Sand Point, AK |
| Chignik, AK | Kotlik, AK | Selawik, AK |
| Copper Center, AK | Kupreanof, AK | Skagway, AK |
| Diomede, AK | Kwigillingok, AK | Soldotna, AK |
| Eek, AK | Napaskiak, AK | Stebbins, AK |
| Emmonak, AK | Newtok, AK | Tenakee Springs, AK |
| Homer, AK | Nightmute, AK | Toksook Bay, AK |
| Hoonah, AK | Nunam Iqua, AK | Tuntutuliak, AK |
| Hooper Bay, AK | Nunapitchuk, AK | Tununak, AK |
| Karluk, AK | Ouzinkie, AK | Utqiagvik, AK |
| Kasigluk, AK | Pelican, AK |
Communities seeking boardroad infrastructure:
| Kwethluk AK | Tuluksak, AK |
Condition Inspection: Can I do an inspection?
We anticipate you’ll be able to log your inspection results by the end of the year.
The assessment checklist will include structural integrity, surface condition, and ADA compliance.
We are creating a mapping application that will show the track of a boardroad and the inspection results that have been uploaded.
Document Library
Community Phone Survey Questions, February and March of 2026
Schedule: When can we use the inventory and inspection standards?
The inventory and inspection tools are slated for completion in the spring of 2027. We may post in-progress tools that you can experiment with. Feedback is welcomed at boardroads@akml.org.
What’s next?
In February and March of 2026, AML will contact the communities that have boardroads for a phone survey. (See, “Inventory: Is your boardroad community listed?” above). This survey will ask about where boardraods are, how they are used, and the physical condition they are in. We will also ask if there are geomat, geogrid or geomembrabne roads.
This information will be reported to the Denali Commission and to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Data from the surveys will eventually be publicly available on a mapping application.
