Mayor Suzanne LaFrance announced today that the Municipality of Anchorage has been awarded $4.7 million in federal funding to help advance the Don Young Port of Alaska Modernization Program (PAMP). The grant will fund the planning and design for the replacement of a petroleum terminal damaged in the 2018 earthquake.
The funding is awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).
The entire port modernization program is estimated to cost $2.8 billion and is being funded primarily through shipping surcharges and federal and state contributions. Each dollar in state or federal funding will reduce shipping surcharges by about $2.50, saving Alaskans money on the cost of groceries, fuel and essential goods.
“Every federal dollar for the PAMP is a win for our entire state, because a modern, resilient facility means a more secure and affordable future for Alaska,” said Mayor LaFrance. “I want to thank Senator Lisa Murkowski for her continued advocacy and work to secure this funding, which will help us preserve an economic lifeline and lower the cost of living for Alaskans by reducing the need for surcharges.”
The Don Young Port of Alaska is the state’s primary inbound marine cargo hub, supplying over 150 communities and 90% of Alaska residents with essential goods, including food, construction materials, and fuel for commercial and military aviation.
The current facility’s aging, corroded docks are at risk of failure in a significant earthquake, posing a threat to Alaska’s supply chain and food security. The PAMP is replacing the Port’s failing infrastructure with four modern, seismically resilient terminals.
Three of the PAMP’s eight major projects have been completed to date. Work on the next phase, the reconstruction of Cargo Terminal 1, began in March and is expected to be completed in 2029.
Governor Mike Dunleavy today announced that Alaska has secured more than $115.4 million in federal grants through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Seven Alaska projects were selected out of 37 awarded nationally, spanning coastal communities from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to Southeast Alaska.
“Alaska’s ports are the economic lifelines of our communities,” said Governor Dunleavy. “These investments will modernize critical infrastructure, improve safety, and strengthen the supply chains Alaskans depend on every day. I want to thank Secretary Duffy and the Trump Administration for their commitment to advancing Alaska.”
These projects address real, on-the-ground needs at ports across Alaska—improving freight movement, reliability, and day-to-day operations, said Alaska DOT&PF Commissioner Ryan Anderson. “By strengthening these connections, we’re helping facilitate economic growth and expanding opportunities for communities across the state.”
The awards will fund a broad range of port improvements across the state. In Southcentral Alaska, the Alaska Railroad Corporation will receive $20.4 million to upgrade the railroad tunnel connecting Port of Whittier to the ARRC mainline and purchase 30 new railcars, while the Municipality of Anchorage secured $4.7 million to plan the replacement of a petroleum terminal damaged in recent earthquakes.
The State of Alaska will receive $34 million to expand Port Mackenzie with a 110-acre cargo laydown area, rail spur, and barge dock improvements.
The City of Whittier will receive $4.1 million to design a replacement for the Delong Dock, the closest year-round deepwater port to Anchorage.
The Alaska Railroad Corporation will receive $20.4 million to upgrade the railroad tunnel connecting the Port of Whittier to the railroad’s mainline track.
In Homer, $11.2 million will replace the aging float system at one of Alaska’s busiest commercial fishing ports.
In Southeast Alaska, Skagway secured $38.6 million to construct a modern industrial dock with a RORO freight ramp and integrated fuel header.
In rural Western Alaska, the City of Chevak will receive $2.35 million to plan a new barge landing facility — the community’s only link for fuel and goods delivery.
The Port Infrastructure Development Program is administered by the Maritime Administration and awards grants competitively based on safety, efficiency, port resilience, and workforce development criteria.
Alaska Public Media
By Mikayla Finnerty
Work is underway to rebuild an important cargo dock in Anchorage, part of a larger $2.7 billion project to improve the Don Young Port of Alaska that began in 2014.
The rebuilding of the port’s Cargo Terminal 1 began March 16, following an official “notice to proceed” from Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. It’s just the latest phase of the Port of Alaska Modernization Program and represents the largest capital project since Anchorage became a municipality in 1975.
The port “is a critical piece of infrastructure, not just for Anchorage residents, but for most residents of the state of Alaska,” LaFrance said.
The larger project aims to upgrade the entire port and address its aging and corroding terminals. The upgrade will allow for larger vessels while adhering to the latest seismic design standards.
Read Full Story Here:
https://alaskapublic.org/news/anchorage/2026-03-24/port-of-alaska-to-see-major-rebuild-as-work-gets-underway-on-critical-cargo-terminal
KTUU News
By Joe Allgood
After over 60 years of existence, the Don Young Port of Alaska is already in the process of the largest change since its inception.
As part of the Port of Alaska Modernization Program, a contract for over $800 million in work was awarded by the municipality of Anchorage for a new terminal, meaning designs over a decade in the making will begin to take shape.
“This is probably the biggest infrastructure project that the state of Alaska has ever seen since maybe the Trans-Alaska pipeline,” said Port Director Steve Ribuffo. “It is that size in significance not only because of the cost, because of the magnitude of change in one place that’s going to happen over a decade.
“Nothing happens fast.”
The main impetus for the project is corrosion and age, prompting safety concerns.
“We were pretty old, and while it served us well, these are modern times, and the corrosion is something that needed to be dealt with,” Ribuffo said.
The port officially opened in 1961, only three years before the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. Since the earthquake did not damage the port as it did ports in Whittier, Seward, and Valdez, cargo traffic was redirected to Anchorage.
If another ’64-sized earthquake were to hit southcentral, Ribuffo is not so sure the port would survive.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/04/24/port-alaska-prepares-historic-overhaul/
Anchorage Daily News
By Zachariah Hughes
The Anchorage Assembly approved two measures this week that clear a path for funding and finishing a longstanding overhaul of the state’s main port facility.
“If you’ve been on the journey of the Port for the past decade, you know these two items represent significant milestones,” Assembly Vice Chair Meg Zaletel said in a statement after the votes took place at a special Assembly meeting Wednesday afternoon.
One of the ordinances approved gives the city the ability to sell up to $1.1 billion in revenue bonds to pay for construction work at the Don Young Port of Alaska as part of the port’s ongoing modernization project. Unlike the general obligation bonds that are paid back over time through local property taxes to finance things like road improvements and school upgrades, revenue bonds are long-term debt repaid through fees.
In this case, that means surcharges collected on material coming through the port that are passed along to consumers as part of the prices they pay when they buy groceries, fuel and other goods imported to Alaska through the port. Shoppers and consumers in Alaska already pay those fees for the cargo coming into the port. Future revenue bonds mean they will go up down the road.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2025/04/17/unanimous-assembly-votes-secure-11b-financing-option-for-port-of-alaska-and-construction-contract/
KTUU News
By Jonson Kuhn
More than $807 million in Port of Alaska cargo terminal upgrades were approved Wednesday by Anchorage Assembly members, after Anchorage’s mayor dismissed a rejected bidder’s “serious concerns” about the process.
The project, awarded to Manson/Michels Joint Venture and slated to begin next year as part of the port’s modernization project, includes supporting operations like military deployments and cruise ships.
Also approved on Wednesday, a $1.1 billion extension, which creates the budgetary authority for the Municipality to enter into contracts up to that amount.
Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance called the two unanimous votes a “historic move forward.”
“Thank you to the members of this body, not only for your unanimous approval and unanimous dissent, but for the way in which you have engaged in this project,” LaFrance said.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/04/17/dismissing-bidders-serious-concerns-anchorage-assembly-approves-807-million-port-cargo-construction-project/
Anchorage Daily News
By Emily Goodykoontz
A federal appeals court panel has overturned a previous decision that awarded more than $367.4 million to the Municipality of Anchorage in its lawsuit against the federal government over failed construction work at the Don Young Port of Alaska.
In an opinion issued Monday, a panel of judges with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit partially rescinded a 2021 ruling that a federal claims court judge had made in the municipality’s favor and slashed damages awarded to just $11.3 million.
“This is a disappointment, and we are continuing to consider appropriate next steps,” Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said during her opening remarks at Tuesday night’s Assembly meeting.
Anchorage entered a memorandum of agreement with the federal Maritime Administration, or MARAD, back in 2003 to overhaul the facility. The city later discovered much of the work done by subcontractors had been botched.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2024/12/18/federal-appeals-court-overturns-367m-award-to-anchorage-in-lawsuit-over-faulty-port-construction/
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska), announced today that six coastal communities in Alaska will receive more than $104 million in investments this year for critical port and maritime infrastructure. These grants, funded by both annual appropriations and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), will benefit port, harbor, and dock improvement and development in communities across Alaska. The IIJA provided $2.25 billion in funds available over five years to the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), which is a key funding avenue for Alaska coastal communities. Funding for these grants was made up of $450 million from the IIJA with an additional $50 million provided in the FY24 Appropriations Act, for a total of $500 million in available funding.
Read Full Press Release Here:
https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/delegation-applauds-104-million-for-alaska-port-and-maritime-infrastructure-projects
By Emily Goodykoontz
Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage Assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed three measures critical to moving ahead with the modernization project at the Don Young Port of Alaska, including approval of an expanded design for cargo terminal two.
Wednesday’s votes ended a nearly two-year-long debate over whether to move ahead with the more expensive design for the two cargo terminals. Cargo terminal two will now be built to the same 120-foot width as terminal one, which means both docks will be able to accommodate 100-gauge cranes.
The Assembly also approved a bond sale of up to $180 million to fund work and payments related to the port modernization project in 2025. Another approved measure increases tariffs to pay for the bonds.
“These are big milestones in a very long-term project,” Assembly Vice Chair Meg Zaletel said.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2024/11/07/anchorage-assembly-approves-expanded-design-for-port-of-alaskas-cargo-terminals/
By Emily Goodykoontz
Anchorage Daily News
As the Municipality of Anchorage presses forward with the massive modernization project at the Don Young Port of Alaska, city officials say that construction of the first cargo dock terminal will likely be delayed, and much of that work won’t start next summer as previously intended.
That’s because the city did not receive any bids from construction companies after undergoing a monthslong procurement process to select one.
“We anticipate a delay of one season on the actual dock construction. There are other portions of the project, things like the electrical systems — that work should be able to proceed on schedule,” said Jim Jager, the port’s spokesman.
The city is now retooling its bid proposal package in order to make it more attractive to potential bidders, Municipal Manager Becky Windt Pearson told the Anchorage Assembly last week.
Meanwhile, the Assembly is set to vote on a slate of measures related to the modernization project.
Read Full Story Here:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2024/11/05/port-of-alaska-cargo-terminal-construction-could-be-delayed-due-to-lack-of-contractor-bids/
