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/
Fox 4 KTBY Anchorage
By: Gretchen Parsons
The Port of Anchorage services 85-percent of Alaska's population and connects marine, highway, rail and air cargo systems that go to 200 different communities in Alaska.
The structures have reached their useful life spans and one of the most impactful facilities in the state could be compromised.
View Full Story Here:
http://www.youralaskalink.com/news/problems-with-the-port/article_b0442d5e-127b-11e6-8ffc-9f6e9ef0eeb1.html
Fox 4 KTBY Anchorage
By: Gretchen Parsons
The Port of Anchorage services 85-percent of Alaska's population and connects marine, highway, rail and air cargo systems that go to 200 different communities in Alaska.
The structures have reached their useful life spans and one of the most impactful facilities in the state could be compromised.
View Full Story Here:
http://www.youralaskalink.com/news/problems-with-the-port-pt/article_1e599970-11b2-11e6-b679-7feff6b0a6ec.html
YourAlaskaLink.com
By: Gretchen Parsons
The Port of Anchorage services 85-percent of Alaska's population and connects marine, highway, rail and air cargo systems that go to 200 different communities in Alaska.
The structures have reached their useful life spans and one of the most impactful facilities in the state could be compromised.
View Full Story Here:
http://www.youralaskalink.com/news/problems-at-the-port/article_d43be194-10f4-11e6-9adb-cf2733ccea1f.html
Alaska Mega Machines - Season 1 Episode 2
The Yeti, a machine with 588 sharp teeth, helps keep the coldest airport in America running. Mighty tugboats chew through ice chunks in the busiest port in Alaska. And soldiers become Arctic Warriors in the coldest army post in the country.
- 44 min
- TV-PG
- Premiered 5/4/2016
KTVA News
By: Eric Ruble
ANCHORAGE – Aside from terminal additions in the 1970s, the Port of Anchorage has largely remained the same in the 54 years since the first dock was finished. A journey underneath the port — to both the terminals constructed in 1962 and the ‘70s — reveals the dilapidated state of the structure.
“In many cases, the welds start to fail,” said Todd Cowles, the port’s engineer, pointing out a corroded pile, or pillar, under the port. In some areas, the corroded steel can be scraped off with the swipe of a finger. “A significant earthquake, we expect, would cause damage down here.”
Protective steel “jackets” have been placed around the most corroded piles, but Cowles said they are only designed to last 15 to 20 years.
“It’s just not economical to keep Band-Aiding,” he said. “We’re never going to find the seismic capacity that structural design demands now with these jackets.”
The port already has $127 million secured for the first phase of their modernization program. The second phase requires an additional $290 million, all of which is being requested from the state. The director of the port, Steve Ribuffo, said the project would increase efficiency, not capacity, although expanding the port’s capacity would be easier after the modernization is complete.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.ktva.com/municipality-continues-to-call-for-funding-to-improve-anchorages-crumbling-port-426/
Alaska Public Media
By: Zachariah Hughes
As aggressive corrosion rapidly degrades the Port of Anchorage, its funding future is in the hands of Juneau lawmakers. Funding for construction and rehabilitation of port infrastructure was the only financial request of the mayor’s administration in Anchorage for this session. But the possibility of action on a major spending project, even one most see as critical and inevitable, is nearly impossible according to lawmakers on both sides.
Trying to follow major spending request in this lean fiscal climate resembles a scene from part one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Pius Thicknesse is interrogated by Lord Voldemort.
“One hears many things my lord,” Thicknesse says as a snake slithers by his foot. “Whether the truth is among them is not clear.”
“Spoken like a true politician,” replies Lord Voldemort with a laugh.
Rumors have swirled for months about whether funding to upgrade essential pieces of the port would come out of this session. In January, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz requested that a general obligation bond for $290 million go before voters on the November ballot.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.alaskapublic.org/interactive/?p=877
Alaska Public Media
By: Zachariah Hughes
The Port of Anchorage is literally coming apart, threatening to upend the state’s essential supply chain in what officials have called “a slow motion disaster.”
Every year, millions of taxpayer dollars are spent simply coping with the aggressive corrosion of the port’s most basic infrastructure. But without hundreds of millions to pay for major rehabilitation work, the nexus point for most of the state’s fuel, food, and building supplies could be wiped out by a minor earthquake or long-term decay.
At the very bottom of low tide in Cook Inlet, a small group of representatives from a shipping company, the port, and the mayor’s office climbed into a little v-hull boat equipped with two outboard motors. They came for an up-close look at the latest damage to the steel beams propping up the port.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.alaskapublic.org/interactive/?p=752
Alaska Public Media
By: Zachariah Hughes
An enormous share of Alaska’s food, fuel, and supplies come into the state through just a single access point: the Port of Anchorage. Even small communities in distant parts of the state rely on the steady flow of goods over the port’s docks. It’s a critical supply-chain that connects hundreds of communities, and is under threat from deteriorating infrastructure.
On a recent crystal clear morning, semi-trucks barreled up and down long drawbridges connecting the asphalt docks of the port to the belly of a massive container ship. Tractor-trailers hauled full 40-foot metal containers out from within.
Twice a week, two cargo ships travel 66 hours from Tacoma, Washington to dock at the port. This one is run by Tote Maritime, and for hours a frenzy of heavy equipment moves 485 containers onto shore. According to officials with the city, the port, and the shipping companies, the unloading process here is fundamental for Alaska’s main supply chain.
Read Full Story Here:
http://www.alaskapublic.org/interactive/?p=650
