Building Alaska--Summer Edition: Construction projects from North Pole to the Kenai Peninsula.

• Author: Davenport, Samantha
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

Summer is in full swing, and Alaskans know what that means: construction season.

ISER's Alaska Construction Spending Forecast 2019 projects that construction in Alaska will increase 10 percent compared to 2018--rising to approximately $7.2 billion. An estimated $200 million of that is traceable to damages from the 7.1 earthquake that rattled the state last November.

But other projects, planned long in advance, are still taking place this summer. Alaska Business has compiled a few of these projects from across the state.

Interior

Steven Edwards, senior public relations specialist for Stantec, says the North Pole Water System Expansion will extend the public water supply to more than 650 properties within and around the city. Exclusive Paving is the contractor for the Stantec-designed project, a $52 million job constructing 181,000 feet of insulated water mains.

"The project includes expansion of the existing water treatment plant, a new 750,000-gallon water reservoir, and a new water system pump house," Edwards says.

Construction on the North Pole Water System Expansion started in February of 2018 and should be finished by the end of August.

At Eielson Air Force Base, Design Alaska is in the midst of a $19.5 million after-school facility project, says Jeff Putnam, vice president of the firm.

"[The project] supports the new F-35 aircraft that are coming to the base," Putnam says. "With the increase in personnel, there's a number of support buildings that are also needed to either be rebuilt or enlarged or something along that line. This building provides after-school services for military personnel and their families."

Putnam says the design-build project is being managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District, GHEMM Co. is the general contractor, and Design Alaska is the architect-engineer for the design. The project broke ground in June and should be complete in the summer of 2020.

Another military project Design Alaska is assisting with is the replacement of the Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area, currently within the boundaries of Fort Wainwright. The $10 million project will replace the existing facility. Stellar Construction is the construction manager for the project, GHEMM Co. is the general contractor, and Design Alaska is the designer of record.

"Demo, site work, and driving piles should begin this fall with construction starting next spring," Putnam says. "The facility should be back up in operation in time for the...