U.S. Army Corps of Engineers directs federal defense dollars in Alaska: spending includes military construction, civil works and environmental remediation.

• Author: Colby, Nicole A. Bonham
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: BUILDING ALASKA

With construction among Alaska's key economic drivers, the infusion each year of federal monies for military-related construction projects is--not surprisingly--significant. In that regard, the Alaska economy uniquely benefits from the state's strategic geographic location. As a northern stronghold of military presence for the nation, Alaska hosts a broad array of comprehensive facilities for the various branches of military service. That federal financial infusion flows to the front lines of the state's work force when local private companies and their employees are awarded contracts to design, build and maintain military-related facilities in Alaska.

CORPS CONTRACTS INFUSE LOCAL ECONOMIES

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska Division serves as the nation's engineering, technical and construction-support arm to support peacetime and contingency operations throughout the Pacific Region and Alaska. Established on April 9, 1946, the division is headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage and is responsible for the largest geographic area in the nation. The Alaska Division program represents among the largest within the Corps of Engineers, with primary focus on military construction, civil works and environmental cleanup. Military construction projects constitute the greatest portion of the Alaska Division's workload, trending toward the specific support of U.S. Army transformation mission and U.S. Air Force realignment and re-stationing.

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The Corps' civil works program operates and maintains 52 river and navigation projects along Alaska's coastline, including 36 small-boat harbors, 10 channels, four breakwaters and two river projects. The division's Formerly-Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program has identified 312 environmental cleanup and restoration projects within the Alaska, with well over 100 projects completed to date.

The Corps of Engineers Alaska Division military construction program will be steady over the next couple of years, with a small growth in the 2013 program, according to Corps officials. After that, the Corps of Engineers' military program will flatten out. Projected military program totals feature 15 projects for FY11 for $418 million; an estimated seven projects in FY 12 totaling $370 million; and an estimated 12 projects in FY13 totaling more than $550 million, according to Corps officials.

CORPS TO AWARD 15 PROJECTS IN FY11 MILITARY PROGRAM

The Corps expects to award 15 construction projects, totaling $418 million, during FY11. The current contract award season began on May 5, 2011, delayed due to budget negotiations in Washington, D.C. The Corps usually awards its contracts in the second quarter of the fiscal year: January through March. When the budget passed, Alaska received priority in the distribution of funds because of its short construction season. As a result, the Corps will award most of its projects in the...