Beyond boom or bust.

• Author: Sullivan, Patty
• Position: Alaska's construction industry - Industry Overview

Big dollar construction projects are springing up all over the state in 1998: a rocket launch on Kodiak; a SeaLife Center in Seward; hotels, dorms, and a seafood plant in Anchorage; military radar near Nenana; and modules for oil fields on the North Slope.

The Alaska economy is experiencing a healthy mix of public, residential, and commercial construction, said Neal Fried, labor economist for the analysis and research arm of the state Department of Labor.

"Everybody used to talk boom or bust, feast or famine with construction," Fried said. "In the 90s these terms are not used anymore. Weirdly, construction is one of the most stable industries. In the last nine years, we've had a slow, stable growth, not one that fits all the adjectives."

Last year was a big year for hotels in Anchorage, and this year looks to be healthy again, with a 20-story Marriott, and a third NANA/Marriott coming to Anchorage. Retail, which boomed in 1993, also shows promise: The Home Depot opened its doors in April in Anchorage and it was announced recently that Staples, Inc. would begin building two stores in Anchorage this summer. And in the Matanuska Susitna Valley, Sam's Club, Staples and Fred Meyer are fast on the heels of the handful of subdivisions popping up in Palmer and Wasilla.

But Fried said the newest trend, and perhaps the one having the most economic impact in the state, is the increased activity on the slope. New oil fields are opening and there is more drilling developments in existing fields.

Also, with the growth of Alpine, Northstar, Liberty, and Prudhoe Bay, comes the need for new facilities, mainly in the form of modules. Unlike the past, modules will not be sea-lifted from the Lower 48. This time an alliance of Alaskan companies will do the work. Fabrication takes place in Anchorage and on the Kenai Peninsula, then the modules will journey north by truck or barge. The sea-lift modules for the Alpine project alone inject more than $200 million into the Alaska economy, money that until this year would have filtered elsewhere.

When Fried considers the sweep of projects - from oil fields, to radar, to movie theaters - he can't say the word "healthy" often enough. "It's an interesting year," Fried said. "Hard to get your arms around."

At Alaska Business Monthly, we tried to get our arms around it by talking with a project manager or two. Here's what we found out.

ANCHORAGE AREA

Gateway Alaska

Perhaps in the year 2003, switchbacking lines at Anchorage airport ticket counters will be a memory of the '90s.

With a $350 million terminal and a multiple roadway upgrade project called Gateway Alaska, Anchorage International Airport is expected to keep pace with its ever-growing number of passengers.

The overall highway and roadwork will stretch the project out over a 10-year period, but the terminal revitalization could be done in half that time, said David Eberle, Gateway director, and DOT director of constructions and operations.

For now, the facility remains old and cramped, with most of the problems centering on Concourse C, an ailing building from the 1950s. The roof leaks, code violations abound, asbestos lingers, and a heating system remains patched together by duct tape.

"It's a real maintenance nightmare," he said. "The cheapest alternative is to tear it down and start over."

The domestic terminal itself could use some space. In 1997, more than 4.4 million passengers passed through it. According to a Gateway study, the main terminal houses only 75 percent of the space required to serve its passengers. By 2000, that space would only fill 60 percent of the projected need. The ticket and baggage claim lobbies already operate in space considered about half the size they should be. Overall, the airport is serving nearly twice the passengers it did 10 years ago, according to the study.

The terminal work begins with the demolition of Concourse C. "As soon as that happens the project is locked in," Eberle said. Since the legislature approved using bond revenues to pay for part of the construction, demolition will begin this year, and site work should begin in the summer of 1999. By fall 1999, the contract to revamp the domestic terminal would be awarded. The design and construction of the domestic terminal project is estimated at $205 million, Eberle said.

Minnesota/International Interchange

Gateway Alaska project roadwork slated to begin this summer includes widening C Street from Tudor Road to International Airport Road; repaving International Airport between Old Seward and Minnesota; and awarding the contract for the interchange at Minnesota Drive and International Airport Road, a $20 million project.

With a traffic light there now, Minnesota becomes a bottle-neck, said Michael Tooley, highway construction engineer with the state Department of Transportation. The project, dependent on funding from the Highway Trust Fund, would remove the light on Minnesota and put faster lights on installed ramps that carry the cross traffic for the airport. By then, DOT hopes some dirt work will be done so construction can begin in spring 1999.

Whittier Access Road

Phase II of the Whittier Access Road is underway and expected to be completed this fall. Beginning at the Begich Boggs Visitor Center, the segment under works is about 2 miles long. That section connects the visitor center to the portal of the second railroad tunnel, a 2.5 mile tunnel named the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. Along the way, a 430-foot tunnel cuts through a knob to Bear Valley.

Herndon-Thompson, Inc. of Homer, is doing the phase II work at just under $10 million, Tooley said. The project will end at the portal of the second railroad tunnel at Maynard Mountain, which leads to Whittier. Building a turnout next to Portage Lake is part of the plan, as well as developing a trail system to offer a different view of Portage Glacier.

Then it's on to phase III, modifying the two-mile railroad runnel to accommodate both vehicle and train. "It's fairly unique," said Tooley. "There are no other tunnels that are multi-modal like that in the world. It's a pretty skookum facility." The runnel will be the eighth longest in the nation. The construction dollar could reach $50...