www.AlaskaAlliance.com 43 Major construction underway across Alaska currently New construction is helping fuel a rebound of the state’s economy. Alaska jobs are up about 3 percent over year-ago levels. Construction, which has been growing at about 17 percent, is pushing a lot of that. What’s behind the construction surge is new North Slope oil projects and an injection of federal infrastructure money into the state. About $6 billion in federal funds have been allocated to Alaska to date under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA, and oil producers are budgeting more than $10 billion for new projects on the slope. While the oil work is focused on the big Pikka and Willow projects as well as in the large producing fields, the infrastructure spending is statewide with much of it in transportation projects managed by the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Here’s a sampling of major transportation construction underway: n Reconstruction of the Port of Alaska in Anchorage continues. A new cement and petroleum terminal at the port is now complete and operating. Work in 2024 is focused on repairs of the north end of the port that were damaged by a contractor. The next, most important, stage is construction of new cargo docks to replace the current dock that is badly corroded. n Of interest to oil and gas support contractors, $66 million is being spent on an upgrade of the Dalton Highway south of Deadhorse from Mile 289 to Mile 305 to raise the road grade to offset permafrost settling, establish a consistent width and improve drainage. This will also reduce snow drifting in the winter. Cruz Construction is the contractor n Two segments of reconstruction are underway on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage, from Miles 75 to 90 south of Twentymile River. Grading, drainage, new signage, and striping in planned with a budget of $7.5 million. Granite Construction is the contractor. The second, larger project is continuation of reconstruction of the Juneau Creek bridge and the highway at Mile 45 to Mile 60, near Cooper Landing. This is budgeted at $151.3 million. n Several projects are underway along the Richardson Highway from Mile 266 to Mile 341 including construction of new passing lanes. This is the corridor now being used by Kinross Gold in trucking ore to Fairbanks from the new Manh Choh gold mine near Tetlin. The budget for this is $30.8 million. HC Contractors is the contractor n Additional projects on the Alaska Highway are going out for bid which will see work underway later this summer and next year. This work will include new bridges and highway rehabilitation from Mile 1235 to Mile 1268. Costs are estimated at $30 million to $40 million n Reconstruction of Glenn Highway from the Parks Highway intersection north to Palmer continues in its second year, creating a fourlane divided highway with frontage roads and pathways. Work this year is funded at $40.3 million. Quality Asphalt Paving is leading the project in a joint-venture Another significant project in the Mat-Su region is continued reconstruction of the Knik-Goose Bay road into a divided four-lane highway. This project is primarily to improve safety along this heavy-traveled corridor. A new project of strategic importance in Southcentral Alaska, to be underway next year, is an 18-mile segment of new road to a new crossing of the Susitna River where a new bridge is also planned. This will be a public highway open for recreation and other uses. It will be important, however, in easing access to explore for natural gas on the west side of Cook Inlet. Also, beginning at the new bridge a separate 100-mile restricted-use industrial road is planned by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, to reach areas west of Skwentna, in the western Matanuska-Susitna Borough, where companies are exploring promising mineral discoveries. AIDEA can only build the road, however, if mines are developed and companies sign toll agreements to use the road that will allow the authority to issue bond to finance construction. — Tim Bradner Photo Courtesy Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities An overhead photo of the Seward Highway Project at Cooper Landing from October 2023. It captures portions of the old highway alignment along either side of the new continuous curve.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==