Monday, August 25, 2014

Anchorage needs $270M to finish port project

Anchorage is pushing the reset button on its Port of Anchorage project. Construction was stopped in 2010 on the first attempt to revamp the port after damage was found to sheet pile intended to be the dock face.

Work at the port has been almost stagnant since those major construction problems were discovered four years ago. More than $300 million of public money has been spent on the project since its launch in 2003, with only barge dock completed.

Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan told a meeting of stakeholders that he is confident in their ability to jumpstart the stalled construction project.

"We’re certainly at a very important stage in moving the project forward," Sullivan said. "It’s been, as we all know, a challenging last four to five years watching a project that’s spent a significant amount of money not be viable and having to reverse course — not only undoing construction, as we know will have to happen in the future, but going a new direction in design and construction."

Sullivan said finishing the original sheet pile design that had included relocating the port’s TOTE and Horizon Lines to a new north dock, would have cost an additional $600 million or more. The scaled-back, pile-supported concepts drafted by project manager CH2M Hill, which the city now supports, would likely cost less than $400 million, he said.

The city currently has $130 million set aside for the project.

Finding funds for the project will be the biggest challenge it faces, said Sullivan. He added getting the Port of Anchorage construction project "back on track" before he leaves office (to run for lieutenant governor) has been his top priority and will continue to be.

For more of the Alaska Journal of Commerce story: www.alaskajournal.com


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