Construction Roundup 2023: Infrastructure projects starting or finishing this year.

• Author: Pesznecker, Katie

Any given year in Alaska, a skilled industry of contractors, architects, and engineers are designing and deploying projects across the state that will expand and improve on existing infrastructure. This annual roundup of airports, harbors, bridges, and roads is a high-level capture of some of the work wrapping or launching in 2023.

AIRPORTS

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Runway Extension

The US Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District contracted Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. for this estimated $309 million project. The north-south runway, currently 7,500 feet long, is being extended to 10,000 feet, and the southern threshold is being shifted 400 feet to the north to meet airfield design requirements. According to the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, this project is the largest Pacific Air Forces construction project awarded to date.

This project involves moving 12 million cubic yards of dirt and installing runway and airfield drainage. There is a significant paving component, with hot mix asphalt and poured concrete. Kiewit is installing new airfield lighting that includes a state-of-the-art instrumentation landing system and glide slope technologies. The project is also extending two JBER parallel taxi ways, adding anarm/disarm pad, re-routing Airlifter Drive around the north end of the extens'on, and relocating airfield perimeter fencing and utilities. Notice to proceed was issued August 24, 2022; target completion is August 27, 2025.

Project equipment includes twenty new Caterpillar 777 100-ton heavy-hauler rock trucks to augment Kiewit's fleet of ten Cat 777s. Up to 130 Kiewit staff are expected onsite in summer 2023, joined by 130 craft laborers.

Shifting more operations to this extended runway will reduce conflicts with civilian aircraft operating through Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Lake Hood Seaplane Base, and Merrill Field. Departures to the north may also reduce noise in neighborhoods adjacent to the base.

Northlink South Campus E-Commerce and Express Cargo Terminal

MCG Explore Design is working with Northlink Aviation to develop a 120-acre parcel at ANC. This facility will provide for more efficient cargo transfer, refueling, and maintenance to support cargo operations at the airport. CRW Engineering Group, RSA Engineering, Corvus Design, and Coffman Engineers are also contributing to architecture and engineering, and Cornerstone General Contractors is building the $200 million project. Site work begins in summer 2023.

The South Campus Cargo Terminal is meant to enhance the competitiveness of ANC as a global cargo hub and sustain future cargo volume growth. With more efficient turnaround times, the transfer facility will minimize time on the ground for carriers. "We're excited about this project and its potential for Anchorage, further establishing our state as a global hub for aviation cargo," says Jason Gamache, principal architect at MCG Explore Design. "This terminal will be one of the greenest aviation projects in the country and a model for sustainable design. It will be the first at ANC to employ an onsite glycol recovery and recycling system, dramatically reducing the environmental impact of airplane deicing operations."

Kaltag Airport Improvements

The Alaska Department of Transportation b Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is resurfacing the 4,000-foot runway in the Yukon River village of Kaltag. The $10.7 million project also...