Ports and harbors 2017: a look at waterfront construction this year.

• Author: Friedman, Sam
• Position: TRANSPORTATION

More than $330 million in construction projects are scheduled for Alaska's waterfronts this year despite a near shutdown of the state legislature's capital projects budget that traditionally paid for this kind of work.

Some of this year's biggest port and harbor construction jobs include $127 million for the beginning of a modernization project at the Port of Anchorage and $45 million for upgraded dock infrastructure in Dutch Harbor. In Valdez this year, work continues on a new $82 million boat harbor that's been in the works for four years. Seward plans to build a $15 million breakwater around its new boatyard.

In the absence of fresh capital funding from Juneau, the projects are being financed by a mix of local bonds, federal sources like the Army Corp of Engineers, old state allocations, and one surviving fresh source of state funding, the Harbor Facility Grant program.

Valdez

Valdez is the terminus of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. It's on Prince William Sound and is 299 road miles from Anchorage.

2017 plans: This year the city plans to continue construction of a new commercial boat harbor. The $82.6 million project is funded by the city and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Port and Harbor Director: Jeremy Talbott

Harbor: There are 511 slips in the small boat harbor. The new commercial boat harbor has 140 slips.

Port: The City of Valdez manages a cruise ship terminal and a container terminal. The cruise ship terminal is 600 feet long. The container terminal is 700 feet long.

Port traffic: The port specializes in large cargo like construction and mining equipment because there's little traffic and no highway overpasses between Valdez and the Interior. The city facilities average between 35,000 and 50,000 tons of freight a year over the past five years. Fish processors Silver Bay Seafoods and PeterPan Seafoods ship fish from the city port in Valdez. Last year the trans-Alaska oil pipeline transported an average of 517,500 barrels of oil to Valdez per day.

Seward

Seward is the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad. It is 126 miles from Anchorage over the Seward Highway.

2017 plans: The City of Seward plans to complete a new 960-foot, $15 million breakwater this year that will protect a new harbor to accommodate vessels larger than 70 feet. In addition, the Alaska Railroad anticipates about $1.5 million in new construction in 2017 including power upgrades in a storage yard and a widening of its freight dock.

Harbor master: Norm Regis (Deputy Harbor Master Matt Chase was the source for this article). Alaska Railroad owns the railroad dock in Seward. Christy Terry is the Seward port manager for Alaska Railroad.

Harbor: The city's existing harbor is near downtown Seward and has space for 660 boats. The new breakwater is located in the Seward Marine Industrial Center, which is about six miles from Seward on the east side of Resurrection Bay. The new facility has services including storage space and boat lifts but doesn't yet have floats for the large boats.

Port: The Alaska Railroad operates three main docks, the 736-foot cruise ship dock, the 620-foot freight dock, and the 1,700-foot mooring dock. The mooring dock was previously known as the coal dock when it was used to export coal.

Port traffic: About 180,000 cruise ship passengers visited Seward in 2016. Seward exported coal from the Usibelli Coal Mine near Healy until this year. Fish processors Resurrection Bay Seafoods and Seward Fisheries are in Seward.

Whittier

A narrow tunnel links this Prince William Sound port to the Alaska road and rail system. The harbor is home to a small fishing fleet and a larger recreational fleet.

2017 project: The City of Whittier is trying to secure a loan to rebuild some of its harbor floats in 2017. The Alaska Railroad plans small improvements to two of its docks.

Harbor Master: Andy Dennis (City of Whittier); Paul Farnsworth is the Alaska Railroad's Director of Facilities and Energy Management.

Habor: Space is tight in the Whittier Harbor. There's a waiting list of more than three hundred people for a preferential slip. The harbor contains 358 slips. There are an additional 99 slips at the privately-owned Cliffside Marina and Yacht Club.

Port: The Alaska Railroad owns three dock facilities in Whittier, the main barge dock for rail freight, the Delong Dock for seafood, and a mooring facility...