Interior construction sector doing well: From roads to airports to a parking garage, interior Alaska is enjoying a healthy construction season.

• Author: Freeland, Peggy Frank
• Position: Brief Article

He could be the voice of one crying in the wilderness, but in Interior construction circles only City of Fairbanks Building Official Steve Shuttleworth predicted a less than stellar 2002 construction season. It's not that Shuttleworth speaks for the entire Interior, nor that he has a negative outlook for 2002, but how, he wondered, could it beat the banner business year of 2001?

The city itself saw $51 million in permitted construction projects last year, including two high-profile projects not yet completed: a $6.5 million police station scheduled for a late February completion, built by Alcan General Contractors of Anchorage; and a $6 million downtown parking garage to be finished this fall by Kiewit Construction Company of Anchorage. Shuttleworth said it was Fairbanks' 5th biggest year in the last 20 for construction projects.

"We seldom have a crystal ball for the next construction season. We're often the last to know what will be built because the private sector has market considerations and all kinds of contractual reasons for not announcing plans early on," Shuttleworth said. "It would be nice to be able to brag and say it's going to be another banner year like last year, but with the global situation and the local questions marks regarding tourism and those kinds of issues, I think we're looking at an average construction year (inside Fairbanks' city limits) of about $39 million to $40 million."

What will make up the city mix is largely unseen, Shuttleworth said, but he did confirm construction plans by Safeway Stores Inc. for a $500,000 fueling facility on the Old Steese Highway.

Otherwise he hedged his bets. "Keep in mind," Shuttleworth said, "if (construction projects are) one inch out of city limits they're out of our jurisdiction." That leaves a lot of ground to be broken.

At Eureka Builders Inc., president Bob Herting built homes in the hills outside city limits for all kinds of customers in 2001 and has buyers lined up for 2002. He said folks seem to be flocking into the Interior region.

"People from all kinds of occupations have been moving in. I built homes last year for teachers at the local schools and the university, and for military people, government employees, hospital workers, even a travel agent and a Fort Knox worker. It's really spread out. I like it when the job market is varied. To me it signifies strength across the board," Herting said.

After 20 years in the business, Herting has learned to be "cautiously...