ASRC Construction, a division of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, is heading up two rural projects in 2024, one in northern Alaska and one in the southwest region. Both projects will restore useful structures that were previously destroyed or damaged in natural disasters.

The New Anaktuvuk Pass Public Works Shop project consists of a 14,797-square-foot pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) that will provide interior vehicle parking, locker rooms, restrooms, a mezzanine, office and meeting facilities, and mechanical/electrical support spaces for North Slope Borough staff. In addition to the structure, site development will include select demolition, contaminated site soil and groundwater management, parking areas, gravel pad, stormwater management, utility services and connections, and site electrical.

“This is a new equipment shop that is replacing the old shop that previously burned down on February 7, 2018,” says Jeremiah Campbell, ASRC Construction operations manager. “Given the remote nature and severe weather conditions in Anaktuvuk Pass, this is a piece of critical infrastructure that is much needed by the borough to house and maintain equipment that keeps the remote village up and running.”

The PEMB construction method, where parts of the structural steel building are prefabricated off site and assembled at their final location, fits the project’s remote location. Anaktuvuk Pass, in the Brooks Range about 50 miles west of the Dalton Highway, is only accessible by plane, so the entire project, including construction and gravel processing equipment, will be flown in by C-130 Hercules aircraft.

ASRC Construction started the project in September 2023, and work is expected to run through the end of September 2025. The estimated cost is around $27.7 million.

In Southwest, on the north bank of the Kuskokwim River approximately 10 miles downriver of Bethel, ASRC Construction is working on a replacement school in Napakiak.

“Due to the effects of climate change, the old school has had to have part of it removed due to the bank erosion of the Kuskokwim River,” says Campbell. “The new replacement school is much farther away from the main river on the other side of the village. The new school is also in the same location where many of the houses in the village are going to be relocated.”

The new school will be a one-story, steel-frame structural insulated panel (SIP) building, approximately 27,600 square feet, constructed on a recently installed pad and pile. Crews will also build an additional new pad extension and building and deck piles. Civil site work also includes well drilling, wastewater treatment lagoon construction, and other site utility connections.

SIP is another high-performance building system that works well for remote areas like Napakiak. The advantages of this system are exceptional thermal performance, healthier indoor air quality, environmental sustainability, structural superiority, and cost effectiveness. The estimated cost of the project is around $45 million. ASRC Construction received the notice to proceed from the Lower Yukon Kuskokwim School District in May 2023. Substantial completion of the project is estimated around July 2025.

In the Interior, Great Northwest, Inc. (GNI) is working on two bridge and drainage projects that will improve the safety and sustainability of the road system. GNI specializes in road and airport construction, site development, site reclamation, underground utilities, erosion protection, and riverbank restoration.

On the Dalton Highway between milepost 18 and 37, just northwest of Livengood, GNI is rehabilitating the 19-mile section with major drainage upgrades, a new bridge, and significant grade improvements requiring more than 1.8 million tons of material and 800,000 cubic yards of excavation. Located about two hours north of Fairbanks, this section of the road is frequently used by large transport vehicles. GNI Vice President Jennifer Quakenbush says, “This project significantly improves the safety and usability of the haul road by reducing steep drops, climbs, and sharp corners, along with the new bridge across Hess Creek.”

GNI started the project in April 2023 and anticipates completion ahead of the scheduled date in fall 2025. The project is estimated to cost around $83.4 million; however, the final cost will be determined following completion.

A thirty-minute drive south of Delta Junction, GNI will also continue to work on the Bear Creek Bridge project started in September 2023. Located at milepost 233 on the Richardson Highway, GNI will replace the bridge over Bear Creek with a wider and longer one while realigning the road and improving the curves and grades to current design standards. Crews will also undertake considerable drainage improvements, including replacing culverts. Quakenbush says the goal is to improve safety by widening shoulders and replacing guardrails and signs while increasing the sustainability of the road by altering its geometry.

“Bear Creek will have a wider channel at the crossing, allowing larger volumes of water to pass underneath and lessening the likelihood of the highway washing out like in 2022,” says Quakenbush.

The cost of the project is estimated at $26.3 million, though the final cost will be determined at the completion of the project in fall 2025. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Northern Region and the Federal Highway Administration are funding both the Dalton and Richardson Highway projects.

In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Stantec is preparing two projects that will benefit school athletics. Starting in May, Stantec will begin work on the Seward High School and Nikiski Middle and High School Track and Turf Project. Crews will rehabilitate the tracks at both schools, adding artificial turf fields to the sports facilities and making necessary drainage improvements.

Stephanie Scheevel, principal and project manager for Stantec, says the Seward and Nikiski tracks are forty and sixteen years old, respectively. The tracks will be replaced or repaved as needed with 8-lane, 400-meter tracks for walking and running, and the artificial turf field will support both football and soccer. Scheevel says this design is comparable to other Stantec-designed facilities found at Kenai Peninsula Borough School District high schools in Soldotna, Kenai, and Homer.

“The project will provide safe and modern athletic facilities for use by students and the community at large,” says Scheevel. “The design and construction also address maintenance and access issues experienced by existing facilities.”

In Nikiski, the school’s track and field is currently at the bottom of a bowl-shaped space with bleachers on the south end of the field. The bleachers are built into a hillside that slopes down to the track. This layout, along with the lack of direct sunlight, increases the time it takes for snow and ice to melt and reduces the amount of time students can use the facilities during the spring season.

The estimated cost for both projects ranges between $8 million and $11 million and is funded by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. Scheevel estimates the tracks will be completed in September of this year.

Contractors say they regularly acquire additional projects throughout the year as new bid solicitations open and existing bids are confirmed by various project owners. As busy as builders are at the start of 2024, they expect to stay that way all year.