ummer is in full swing, and Alaskans know what that means: construction season.

ISER’s Alaska Construction Spending Forecast 2019 projects that construction in Alaska will increase 10 percent compared to 2018—rising to approximately $7.2 billion. An estimated $200 million of that is traceable to damages from the 7.1 earthquake that rattled the state last November.

But other projects, planned long in advance, are still taking place this summer. Alaska Business has compiled a few of these projects from across the state.

Steven Edwards, senior public relations specialist for Stantec, says the North Pole Water System Expansion will extend the public water supply to more than 650 properties within and around the city. Exclusive Paving is the contractor for the Stantec-designed project, a $52 million job constructing 181,000 feet of insulated water mains.

“The project includes expansion of the existing water treatment plant, a new 750,000-gallon water reservoir, and a new water system pump house,” Edwards says.

Construction on the North Pole Water System Expansion started in February of 2018 and should be finished by the end of August.

At Eielson Air Force Base, Design Alaska is in the midst of a $19.5 million after-school facility project, says Jeff Putnam, vice president of the firm.

“[The project] supports the new F-35 aircraft that are coming to the base,” Putnam says. “With the increase in personnel, there’s a number of support buildings that are also needed to either be rebuilt or enlarged or something along that line. This building provides after-school services for military personnel and their families.”

Putnam says the design-build project is being managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District, GHEMM Co. is the general contractor, and Design Alaska is the architect-engineer for the design. The project broke ground in June and should be complete in the summer of 2020.

Another military project Design Alaska is assisting with is the replacement of the Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area, currently within the boundaries of Fort Wainwright. The $10 million project will replace the existing facility. Stellar Construction is the construction manager for the project, GHEMM Co. is the general contractor, and Design Alaska is the designer of record.

“Demo, site work, and driving piles should begin this fall with construction starting next spring,” Putnam says. “The facility should be back up in operation in time for the 2020-2021 ski season.”

Architecture firm McCool Carlson Green (MCG) has some projects in the works in the Interior as well, including an Eielson Air Force Base Missile Maintenance Facility and a Conventional Munitions Maintenance Facility, both of which will begin construction this summer and be complete in the fall of 2020.

Corissa Lickingteller, marketing director at MCG, says the clients for both projects are the US Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District and the US Air Force. Schneider & Associates is the structural engineer on-site; Coffman Engineers is handling the civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering.

MCG is also in the middle of constructing a new fire station at Clear Air Force Station for the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF). Clear Air Force Station sits south of Fairbanks and just north of Denali. The new station will increase in size from 6,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet and feature four drive-through stalls, a training room, and fourteen individual bunk rooms.

Lickingteller says the design team consists of Coffman Engineers, which will assist with mechanical and electrical engineering and landscape architecture, and Schneider & Associates, which is in charge of structural engineering. The contractor for the new station, slated for completion this fall, is UNIT Company.

Tutka, a contractor that specializes in bridge construction and heavy civil work, is also staying busy in the Interior this summer. Amie Sommer, owner of Tutka, says the team is working on replacing the Jenny M Creek Bridge on Chena Hot Springs Road, Milepost 20. DOT&PF is the owner of the $3.7 million project expected to be completed in November of this year.

MCG is currently constructing a replacement for the Auntie Mary Nicoli Elementary School for the community of Aniak and the Kuspuk School District. While the schedule is still being determined, it will be ready for the school year starting in either 2020 or 2021. Lickingteller says the contractor for the job is ASKW; leading project management is ARCADIS; RPKA is heading civil projects; and RSA Engineers is handling mechanical and electrical.

MCG is also working on some projects in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, including a new station for the Wasilla Police Department for the City of Wasilla, which should be completed in spring of 2020. Collins Construction is the general contractor. AMC Engineers is the mechanical and electrical engineer on-site, PND Engineers will assist with structural design, DOWL is heading civil work, and Corvus Design will provide landscape architecture design. Construction is scheduled for completion in mid-2020.

Tutka is assisting with Phase I of the $51 million Seward Highway Road and Bridge Rehabilitation project, owned by DOT&PF. Tutka’s scope of work includes replacing the Peterson Creek, Virgin Creek, and Glacier Creek Bridges and repairing the Ingram Creek Bridge.

The contractor for the job is Granite Construction Company and the engineering firm is PND Engineers. The entire rehabilitation project should be completed by November 2020, and Sommer says Tutka’s portion of the job should be completed this year.

MCG has two construction projects slated for fall in the Panhandle; the Wastewater Treatment Plant Rehabilitation project and a renovation to the Juneau Airport.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant was built in the early ‘80s and most of the building systems have failed or are long overdue for replacement. According to an assembly update from the City of Sitka, “The air quality within the building is inadequate and corrosive and the exposed piping and metal within the building are corroded. The building’s envelope leaks air and does not allow for proper pressurization of the office areas and other clean rooms. Corrosive air in these spaces results in electronics regularly becoming dysfunctional within months, in addition to creating an unhealthy air quality for the WWTP operators.”

The initial cost is estimated at $10 million, with the project expected to wrap up in the spring of 2021.

Lickingteller says that MCG is the architect and project manager for the Juneau International Airport Terminal Renovation. PND Engineers is the civil, structural, and mechanical engineer on the renovation and Haight & Associates is the electrical engineer.

A master plan was created in 2005 to renovate the airport’s terminals and replace areas that were constructed before 1984. Phase I of the plan added 13,000 square feet and renovated 40,000 square feet of the airport. Phase II is currently underway, which will replace all areas that were constructed before 1984, add a second story for a concourse, a new lobby, counter space, and more. The initial project cost is estimated at $21.6 million.

Stantec broke ground in May on a $7.5 million project to construct a new 12,000-square-foot police station. Edwards says that Stantec, the City of Homer, and Cornerstone General Contractors are collaborating on a design-build to construct a station tailored to the needs of the Homer Police Department. Homer residents approved a $5 million bond to complete financing for the new station in 2018.

“Through extensive staff interviews and investigation of the existing layout, the team has been able to create a modern police station to serve public safety staff and the community,” Stevens says. “The new facility includes dispatch, training, administrative, investigative, and patrol offices; armory; evidence storage and lab; and jail with five cells and a detention room.”

Stevens says the new police station should be completed in August of 2020.

The Homer Airport Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting Facility, a project that could cost between $5 million and $10 million, is being constructed by Jay-Brant General Contractors of Homer. R&M Consultants is the prime design consultant, and the primary sub-consultants assisting are MCG for architecture and MBA Consulting Engineers for mechanical and electrical engineering. The facility should be finished by February of next year.