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ny given year in Alaska, a skilled industry of contractors, architects, and engineers are designing and deploying projects across the state that will expand and improve on existing infrastructure. This annual roundup of airports, harbors, bridges, and roads is a high-level capture of some of the work wrapping or launching in 2023.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Runway Extension
This project involves moving 12 million cubic yards of dirt and installing runway and airfield drainage. There is a significant paving component, with hot mix asphalt and poured concrete. Kiewit is installing new airfield lighting that includes a state-of-the-art instrumentation landing system and glide slope technologies. The project is also extending two JBER parallel taxiways, adding an arm/disarm pad, re-routing Airlifter Drive around the north end of the extension, and relocating airfield perimeter fencing and utilities. Notice to proceed was issued August 24, 2022; target completion is August 27, 2025.
Project equipment includes twenty new Caterpillar 777 100-ton heavy-hauler rock trucks to augment Kiewit’s fleet of ten Cat 777s. Up to 130 Kiewit staff are expected onsite in summer 2023, joined by 130 craft laborers.
Shifting more operations to this extended runway will reduce conflicts with civilian aircraft operating through Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Lake Hood Seaplane Base, and Merrill Field. Departures to the north may also reduce noise in neighborhoods adjacent to the base.
The South Campus Cargo Terminal is meant to enhance the competitiveness of ANC as a global cargo hub and sustain future cargo volume growth. With more efficient turnaround times, the transfer facility will minimize time on the ground for carriers. “We’re excited about this project and its potential for Anchorage, further establishing our state as a global hub for aviation cargo,” says Jason Gamache, principal architect at MCG Explore Design. “This terminal will be one of the greenest aviation projects in the country and a model for sustainable design. It will be the first at ANC to employ an onsite glycol recovery and recycling system, dramatically reducing the environmental impact of airplane deicing operations.”
MCG Explore Design
MCG Explore Design
Stantec
Stantec
Stantec
Stantec
Turnagain Marine Construction
Turnagain Marine Construction
Cordova Harbor Improvements
The Turnagain concept developed for the uplands improvements removes significant in-water construction, which could have released contaminants to the environment, and it avoids modifications to the currently in-place marine revetment. That approach would have required a full-wave model analysis, US Army Corps of Engineers review process, and approval prior to installation, delaying the project through an additional fishing season. The approved concept accomplishes the needed work while expanding the uplands parking and staging area.
ASRC SKW Eskimos
ASRC SKW Eskimos
Due to the potential for WWII-era military munitions to be present, all in-water work is being performed with cranes and excavators that Turnagain and Brice are modifying to operate remotely. Design is ongoing. Construction is scheduled seasonally between March and September of 2024 through 2026. The $177 million project will be completed by September of 2026.
The $65 million project features a world-class cruise ship berthing facility to complement Whittier’s new 38,000-square-foot passenger terminal, opening in spring 2024. The project entails a 1,650-foot double-berth dock to accommodate Norwegian Bliss and similarly sized ships. The Head of Bay Cruise Ship dock was designed in-house by Turnagain Marine’s engineering department and will be constructed by two of Turnagain Marine’s crane barges. The dock consists of a 500-foot by 70-foot pontoon float designed by AJD Engineering and fabricated by Transpac Marinas, two mooring dolphins and two float restraint dolphins fabricated by T Bailey, Inc., and a mooring trestle and transfer span fabricated by Jesse Co., along with a 500-foot approach trestle.
JD Fields is supplying nearly 13,000 linear feet of pipe pile in 36-inch and 48-inch diameters. The longest pile to be installed is estimated to be more than 300 feet long. Turnagain Marine is working with subcontractor GMC Contracting to groom the uplands to accommodate the building terminal. Solstice Alaska Consulting is overseeing environmental permits and providing marine mammal observers.
Quartz Creek Bridge Removal and Replacement
Steep terrain, complex utility systems, and homes close to the right-of-way require close coordination with the City of Ketchikan, local utilities, and residents. Work is scheduled from spring to fall 2023.
ASRC SKW Eskimos
ASRC SKW Eskimos
Dalton Highway Milepost 18-37 Reconstruction
The work from spring 2023 until fall 2025 is part of the larger Sterling Highway Mileposts 45-60 project, creating a 14-mile bypass around Cooper Landing. The early phase work informs the design of later phases.
Kivalina Replacement School
The project includes the 33,437-square-foot school building; a 2,369-square-foot mechanical building; a 1,440-square-foot wastewater treatment facility and piping, water storage, and distribution; and bulk fuel tanks.
Structural steel buildings were constructed on piles. The remote location created logistical and physical challenges that required phased construction; because the new school is located inland, extra time was factored in for getting all air and barge freight back and forth.