Alaska Dispatch News
By: Charles Wohlforth
Alaska's megaproject party is over and the roof is still leaking. Or, rather, the dock is leaking.
At the Port of Anchorage, steel pilings that hold up the docks have rusted through and water squirts out of them at low tide.
The irony here is that the money spent on projects that will never be finished would have paid for the modernization of this basic facility, which is a lifeline for the vast majority of the goods we buy. Now the money's gone but the dock still needs to be fixed, and we'll have to pay for it "with our own money," as my kids used to say.
It will cost another $290 million to get the docks to a safe, usable state, without any expansion of the port. We can pay that back over 30 years, so it's affordable, but how we pay and who pays will be an interesting debate.
But first, how did we get here?
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.adn.com/opinions/2016/07/30/with-easy-money-gone-and-port-dock-failing-anchorage-will-have-to-pay/
Alaska Dispatch News
By: Alex DeMarban
Newly released studies about one of America's most endangered animals, the Cook Inlet beluga whale, shed new light on the subspecies and could have implications for the Port of Anchorage's modernization program and other development in the region.
The studies — recently peer-reviewed and released last week by a National Marine Fisheries Service journal — indicate that the summer range of the small white whales may have shrunk, causing concern that concentrated groups may be more at risk in a single catastrophic event, such as an oil spill or a collapse in fish runs.
One of the studies, examining construction activity associated with the port's bungled expansion project that was canceled in 2012, found that noise from pile-driving work could have "potential negative impacts" on the whales.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2016/07/17/new-insight-into-beluga-whale-behavior-shows-decreased-seasonal-range-in-cook-inlet/
The Alaska Contractor
By: Rindi White
Alaska Basic Industries in May commissioned a huge new domed storage facility at the Port of Anchorage, a structure that ABI officials say will allow them to offload a whole ship full of Portland cement at one time.
Wes Vander Martin, general manager of ABI, said the new dome, which holds 40,000 short tons of Portland cement, will make planning for the busy construction season easier.
The current storage area a t the port - two large silos - holds about 20,000 tons, he said, so adding the dome will effectively triple the capacity at the Port of Anchorage. Being able to take a whole shipload at a time will save shipping costs, he said. Having a larger storage space also allows the company to more efficiently handle the volume of cement in storage and to plan for the future.
Read Full Story Here:
Alaska Basic Industries Gets New Storage Dome - PDF
Full Summer 2016 Edition of The Alaska Contractor:
http://www.keeptrees.com/digital-magazine/4587/AGC of Alaska Summer/
Peninsula Clarion
By: Ben Boettger
The Tesoro Corporation petroleum company will need to sell or lease a terminal at the Port of Anchorage, following a June 21 agreement between the company and the Alaska Attorney General.
The agreement, reached by then-Attorney General Craig Richards (who resigned June 23) after a six-month investigation is meant to “mitigate the anti-competitive effects... alleged by the State” of Tesoro’s purchase of another terminal from competitor Flint Hills Resources, giving it most of the port’s capacity to import commercial gasoline.
Tesoro’s Kenai refinery is the only active commercial gasoline refinery in Alaska — the other, Flint Hills’ North Pole refinery, converted to a storage facility in 2014. Two other refineries owned by Petro Star specialize in jet fuel, while other refineries dedicate their production to use by North Slope companies rather than consumers.
Read Full Story Here:
http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2016-06-27/tesoro-must-sell-anchorage-port-terminal
Alaska Dispatch News
By: Devin Kelly
The city of Anchorage has reached a settlement with one of the parties in an ongoing lawsuit over the botched Port of Anchorage expansion, a $5.5 million payout that officials hope is a first step in recovering many millions more.
Documents submitted to the Anchorage Assembly earlier this month describe the settlement between the city and MKB Constructors, which worked as a subcontractor on the expansion project with Quality Asphalt Paving Inc. The Washington-based company was mainly responsible for driving steel sheet piles into the floor of Cook Inlet to create the base of what was to be an expanded, upgraded port.
The project ultimately cost more than $300 million and resulted in a half-finished, unusable new dock. Construction stopped in 2010, and the city has sued the private companies involved in project design and construction, including MKB.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2016/06/22/one-contractor-in-anchorages-lawsuit-over-port-settles-for-5-5-million/
KTVA 11 News Alaska
By: Daniella Rivera
It’s officially tourist season as the first cruise ship of the year has docked at the Port of Anchorage for Memorial Day, bringing hundreds of passengers to the city.
The average tourist spends about $941 in Alaska during their stay. With oil prices still low, every dollar they put into the local economy helps.
“We had record-breaking days these last few days from the cruise ships coming in,” said Andres Guarderas, who operates a hot dog stand downtown.
Visit Anchorage estimated about 11,000 cruise ship passengers came to Anchorage last summer, and predict even more will visit this year.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.ktva.com/first-cruise-ship-of-summer-docks-in-anchorage-for-memorial-day-weekend-845/
Alaska Dispatch News
By: Loren Holmes
Anchorage's first cruise ship of the year docked at the city's port on Memorial Day, dropping off over a thousand visitors to kick off the summer tourist season.
The Holland America cruise ship MS Maasdam, 722 feet long and capable of carrying around 1,260 passengers in addition to 580 crew members, deftly maneuvered into place at the dock without the need for a tug escort.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.adn.com/slideshow/alaska-news/2016/05/30/anchorage-welcomes-its-first-cruise-ship-of-the-season/
KTUU News
By: Beth Verge
Anchorage's first cruise ship of the season, as part of a 9-trip series, arrived for its maiden docking at the Port of Anchorage Monday morning.
Holland America's 720-foot Maasdam landed in town with more than 1250 passengers and 500 crew members aboard. Along with helping show off the beauty of one of Alaska's largest cities, the ship brings in curious travelers and a big day's boost to the economy, too.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/First-cruise-ship-of-the-season-arrives-at-Port-of-Anchorage-381340251.html
Alaska Public Media
By: Zachariah Hughes
An enormous share of Alaska’s food, fuel, and supplies comes through just a single entryway: the port in Anchorage. Even small communities in distant parts of the state rely on the steady flow of goods over the port’s three docks. But the decades-old facility is rapidly deteriorating. And amid enormous budget deficits, the state’s lawmakers say they can’t pay for improvements.
Zachariah Hughes of Here & Now contributor Alaska Public Media reports.
View multimedia coverage from Alaska Public Media and Zachariah Hughes here.
Read Full Story Here:
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2016/05/18/alaskas-main-port
KTVA News
By: Shannon Ballard
The biggest barge crane on the west coast is currently in Anchorage. It’s carrying ten steel piles, each 200 feet long, four feet in diameter and weighing more than 50 tons.
They’re slowly being hammered into Cook Inlet as part of the Port of Anchorage’s modernization program, which will replace deteriorating infrastructure.
“The question was asked, ‘What do you need to do to keep cargo moving across the dock for the state of Alaska for the next 75 years?’” said Lon Elledge, program manager for the Anchorage Port Modernization Program. “The Port has enough capacity for the people of Alaska. What it doesn’t have is reliable docks.”
The Port of Anchorage is spending roughly $10,000 an hour on the pile test project, with a total of $6 million budgeted.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.ktva.com/at-10k-an-hour-crews-begin-placing-test-piles-for-port-of-anchorage-upgrade-298/
