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 Continue reading →

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 Continue reading →

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  Continue reading →

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 Continue reading →

KSKA – Anchorage
By: Zachariah Hughes

The Senate Finance Committee has released its first version of the capital budget, which tracks closely to the governor’s version with a few notable exceptions.

Silt build up around the pilings at the Port of Anchorage. Photo courtesy of Jim Jager, Port of Anchorage.

The total amount of unrestricted general fund spending is $79.7, according to a staffer for Sen. Anna McKinnon, R-Eagle River, who co-chairs the finance committee. That figure pales in comparison Continue reading →

YourAlaskaLink.com
By: Gretchen Parsons

With only two weeks left in session, some Alaskans are wondering if lawmakers will set aside any funding for the Port of Anchorage, which according to the POA, two of three terminals are in deteriorating condition, while the third is 50 years old.

An estimated 90 percent of food, for 85 percent of Alaska’s population, comes through the facility.
Despite the Port’s significance, money is tight, and Rep. Donny Olson says throwing cash at the Continue reading →