Infrastructure

Anchorage clears a substation plat on quake-prone Port ground

Anchorage approved a plat for a new Chugach Electric substation at the Port on ground its own maps rate as highly likely to fail in an earthquake.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 2

Follows: Port of Alaska seeks road realignment for Chugach Electric substation

Antimony plant equipment lands at Port MacKenzie before its air permit clears

Nearly 500 tons of gear has landed at Port MacKenzie for a plant to produce antimony, a defense mineral the U.S. lacks — but its air permit isn't approved.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 1

Follows: A barge of secondhand equipment is bringing a military antimony refinery to Port MacKenzie

Kodiak hospital chiller running at a third of capacity; borough moves to accept $3.85 million to replace it

Kodiak Island Borough Assembly votes Thursday to accept $3.85 million in state funding to replace a failing hospital chiller that is limiting emergency and surgical care on the island.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years, with comments due Sept. 11

Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years at no cost to the state, with public comments due Sept. 11.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Kodiak's hospital runs on power switches nobody makes parts for anymore

The power switches at Kodiak's hospital are 27 years old and out of production. Crews scavenge parts from other sites. The borough is now replacing them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Jun 29

The White House wanted the Denali Commission closed, and it grew instead

The White House proposed closing the Denali Commission. Congress funded it, and the agency ended up administering money many times its own budget.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readFrom Jan 22

Denali's new bridge is finished, and buses still cannot cross it until 2027

Denali's Pretty Rocks bridge is finished, years later than promised. Buses still will not reach Wonder Lake or Kantishna until the 2027 season.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Follows: The bridge meant to reopen half of Denali is running behind, new permits suggest

Metlakatla wins federal money to protect the hydro plant its island runs on

Metlakatla, Alaska's only Native reserve, gets $166,000 to protect the aging hydro plant its island depends on — a power source strained as its lakes run low.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

GCI is buying the only fiber link connecting Alaska's Arctic coast to the state

GCI, Alaska's biggest telecom, is buying the only wired link between the Arctic coast and the rest of the state for $310 million, a route rivals depend on.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

DOT&PF opens bidding to resurface Glacier Highway from Juneau's ferry terminal to South Lena

Alaska DOT&PF opened bidding to resurface 2.4 miles of Glacier Highway between Juneau's ferry terminal and South Lena, with $8.8 million in federal funding and work planned to start in August.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Wasilla is hiring someone to write its next road plan, and a new parks plan too

Wasilla's 20-year road plan ran out this year, and the city is about to hire someone to write the next one. Its parks plan dates back to 2011.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Port of Alaska advances a new substation to power its next cranes

The Port of Alaska is building a new substation to power its next-generation cranes — and it has to be running by 2028, or the cranes can't operate.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Port of Alaska seeks road realignment for Chugach Electric substation

A judge let Alaska start 2.8 miles of the King Cove road with the land swap vacated

A judge will not stop Alaska from starting 2.8 miles of the King Cove road, even though the land swap for the full route has been thrown out.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Follows: Judge vacates 490-acre Izembek land swap, reopening the fight over the King Cove road

Mat-Su explores building the troopers a new home and leasing it back

Mat-Su is exploring building troopers a $13 million facility and leasing it back. Troopers now work from six buildings never designed for police work.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A barge of secondhand equipment is bringing a military antimony refinery to Port MacKenzie

A barge of secondhand refining gear is headed for Port MacKenzie to start a $43.4 million military project for a metal the US stopped mining in the 1990s.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago3 min read

$21 million for 29 miles of the road that supplies the North Slope

Federal records show $21 million for 29 miles of the Dalton Highway, the road that supplies the North Slope. The state awarded the work in May 2025.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Sitka requires appointments for large scrap loads and vehicles at Gary Paxton yard

Sitka's scrap yard now requires appointments for loads larger than a dump truck or for large vehicles, citing limited space and shipping container shortages.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Juneau airport's control tower to get its first new roof since 1987

Juneau's airport control tower is finally getting a new roof — the original one's been up since 1987. The FAA covers most of the roughly $1 million tab.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly weighs $305,000 more for South Goldenview road repairs

South Goldenview wants $305,000 for erosion repairs, the largest request yet from the Hillside neighborhoods that pay for their own roads.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Unalaska approves airport gate power line, with the state covering the cost

Unalaska City Council approved a power line extension to supply new airport access gates, with work due by August 2027 at an estimated cost of $1 million to $2.5 million.

by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago1 min read

Bristol Bay corporation's Anchorage arm takes $2.7 million Interior repair order

Anchorage contractor CCI Facility Contractors won a $2.7 million contract to repair water leaks at a former Interior Department building in Washington, D.C.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

The FAA is paying $4.3 million to design a radar tower near Sitka

The FAA is paying $4.3 million just to design a radar tower on Biorka Island south of Sitka, with an option for the same firm to build it later.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Mental Health Trust clears a road easement north of Seward

Kenai Peninsula Borough won a legal easement across Alaska Mental Health Trust land north of Seward to reach its own property, swapping access rights with the Trust.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read

The Mental Health Trust granted Chugach an easement without saying what it charged

Chugach Electric won approval to bury power lines under Trust land at Community Park Loop, a move that will boost capacity for northeast Anchorage customers.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Federal grant of $3.6 million funds seismic retrofits on eight Interior Alaska bridges

Alaska has $3.64 million in federal money to earthquake-proof eight bridges its own engineers priced at somewhere between $5 million and $10 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly to vote Sept. 1 on two $4 million AWWU on-call repair contracts

Two contractors would go on standby for Anchorage water and sewer emergencies for three years, at up to $4 million each, under contracts up Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kenai council to vote Sept. 2 on FAA-funded airport perimeter fence contract

Kenai City Council votes Sept. 2 on a FAA-funded airport perimeter fence upgrade, with contract details and grant amount to be disclosed at the public hearing.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Anchorage Assembly to take up $4.7 million grant to plan Port of Alaska fuel terminal replacement

Anchorage Assembly votes Sept. 1 on a $4.7 million federal grant to replace POL2, the fuel terminal damaged in 2018 that supplies half the port's capacity and virtually all fuel to JBER.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Comment closes Thursday on 18-year rent-free FAA lease at Chenega Bay Airport

Alaska is deciding whether to give the FAA an 18-year rent-free lease for weather equipment at Chenega Bay Airport. Comments close Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Federal grant of $1.63 million funds Muddy Creek bridge on the Glenn Highway

Federal Highway Administration awarded Alaska DOT 1.63 million dollars to replace a seasonal culvert with a bridge at Muddy Creek on the Glenn Highway near Milepost 94.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks votes Sept. 3 on a $699,500 indoor playground contract

Fairbanks votes Sept. 3 on a $699,500 contract for an indoor playground built for all abilities and ages. The project has already slipped a year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

AIDEA commits $25 million to drill under the West Susitna road

AIDEA committed up to $25 million to drill under a road with no buildable design yet, and its resolution names the three resource projects it would serve.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, above and below

Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, for the aircraft passing above them and the boats passing below. The whole project costs $170,000.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Three Merbok-damaged stretches of the Nome-Council Highway are finally getting permanent repairs

Federal grants totaling $2.4 million will repair three stretches of the Nome-Council Highway damaged by ex-typhoon Merbok in 2022, with work running through April 2028.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A Native corporation's cleanup arm is monitoring a fuel spill in the Sound

A cleanup arm of Alaska Native corporation Calista won an FAA contract to monitor a former diesel spill and buried dump site in Prince William Sound.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

A $1.5 billion Seward Highway rebuild goes to public comment Sept. 22

The state wants to rebuild 20 miles of the Seward Highway as a four-lane divided road for more than $1.5 billion. Public comment opens Sept. 22.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: A $1.5 billion Seward Highway plan pits safety against the Turnagain Arm viewshed

State begins emergency repairs at Skagway ferry terminal with no reopening date

Skagway still has no state ferry service and no reopening date as crews race emergency repairs on its cracked ferry terminal, with chain work set this weekend.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Heads up, Sitka flyers: the airport's pre-security restrooms close for six weeks in September

Sitka's airport closes its pre-security restrooms for about six weeks starting in September for a remodel — part of a $40M terminal expansion. Temporary restrooms will sit outside in the loading zone.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The Coast Guard is giving Homer a building that needs a new roof

The Coast Guard is handing Homer a building assessed at $635,400 that needs a new roof, flooring, paint and electrical work nobody has priced.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Dalton Highway repairs begin Wednesday, narrowing it to one lane

Dalton Highway repairs at Milepost 315 start Wednesday with 24-hour flagging and up to 20-minute delays, narrowing the North Slope's main supply route to one lane.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read