Construction Alaska 2002 and beyond: Alaska's construction sector holds steady with increases in state/federal and military spending.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: Brief Article

As 2001 came to a close, a lot of industries found themselves facing new challenges--airlines looked to the federal government for help after passengers stopped flying as a result of Sept. 11; many private companies closed their doors as the economic downturn took its toll. Yet in Alaska, the construction industry stayed steady; and in 2002, it looks to continue this trend, with much of its support coming from state and military spending.

"Last year, about $4 billion was spent on construction in Alaska, and while it may stay level this year instead of growing three to five percent, we'll get by," said Richard Cattanach, executive director, Associated General Contractors of Alaska. "Overall, I think the DOT (Department of Transportation) budget will be flat, but we'll see an increased level of spending in the military. Spending on construction in the petroleum industry will probably be flat to slightly down, and I project the private sector also will be down slightly."

Big projects this year include the Bassett Army Replacement Hospital at Fort Wainwright, at a cost of $215 million; continued work at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for $85 million; and work on Dimond High School in Anchorage at a cost of $15 million to $20 million this year. Also on the horizon is the $35 million Alaska Psychiatric Institute project, a design/build project that should come up for bid this year.

According to Cattanach, reverberations from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the poor economy will effect some sectors of the construction industry, especially the private sector. "Companies like Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart may be reluctant to grow and develop, so we'll probably see some caution on their parts," said Cattanach. "But this section of the industry tends to hold their plans very close to the vest so that competitors don't get a jump on them, so I don't have a good feel yet for what they plan to do."

Cattanach also sees decreased spending by the oil companies in 2002, with BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. cutting down and Phillips Alaska Inc. holding steady. "Though there will probably be a slight decrease in spending from oil field companies, there will be a disproportionate amount of spending by the military," he said. "So even if the construction numbers go down, it will be a marginal decrease. I really don't think there will be that much impact."

MILITARY SPENDING

"If you take away the pipeline, the Bassett Hospital replacement is probably the biggest individual project that's been built in Alaska," said Cattanach. "It will have a tremendous impact on Fairbanks and the entire state."

The Bassett Army Hospital Replacement is a project of the Alaska District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Defense Medical Facilities Office, the U.S. Army Alaska, MEDDAC-Alaska (Bassett Army Community Hospital), the Health Facilities Planning Agency, the AE design team, and the construction contractor, who will be chosen in early 2002. The proposed project, which is budgeted at $215 million, will be a 259,000-square-foot, 32-bed facility that will provide health care to an estimated 25,000 patients in a 46,400-square-mile area. The project, divided into four phases, is scheduled for completion in 2007.

Roughly $563.4 million is budgeted for Alaska district projects in 2002, to be spent on both military and civil works projects. Current projects under construction for the Army include barracks upgrades; central heat and power plant repairs; a Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training facility at Fort Wainwright; central vehicle wash facilities and whole barracks renewals at Fort Richardson and Fort Wainwright; and a crisis response facility at Fort Richardson. Barracks renewal at Fort Richardson, started in 2000, should be completed in July of 2002.

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