Infrastructure
RSSInfrastructure in Alaska is the physical systems and public facilities that communities build and maintain. It includes transportation, utilities, and public works projects managed by state, municipal, and federal agencies. These efforts cover roads, water systems, and power grids.
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Week of Aug 24
Texas firm wins $48,950 contract to patch pavement at Kenai refuge
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is patching pavement and sealing cracks this fall under a $48,950 contract, running from mid-August through mid-October.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 17
Alaska ranks 45th in federal dollars and 8th per person
Alaska has drawn $15.39 billion in federal awards this year, 45th by total and 8th per capita. Neither ranking says how much stayed in Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Kodiak landscaper won $19,500 to resurface the base softball field
Five companies bid for the job of filling in the low spots in the Coast Guard's softball outfield in Kodiak. The winner gets 30 days and $19,500.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
A $3.19 million contract will fix roads and fish passage near Ketchikan
The Forest Service is paying $3.19 million for road and culvert work near Ketchikan. Since 1998 it has fixed about 57% of the Tongass culverts inventoried.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Alaska ferry system awarded more than $410 million in federal funding
Alaska's ferry system is getting more than $410 million in federal money, both to keep the boats running and to build a new vessel and upgrade terminals.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's development authority again takes ANWR and Ambler to closed session
Alaska's development authority will again discuss two divisive projects — ANWR oil drilling and the Ambler mining road — in closed session this week.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Alaska State Fair plans $10 million Borealis Theatre rebuild
The Alaska State Fair is rebuilding its Borealis Theatre, growing the concert venue from 5,200 to 6,500 with a bigger stage, better sound and a steeper lawn.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A $413 million cable would give Kenai and Anchorage a second power link
One transmission path links Kenai to Anchorage. A $413 million subsea cable would add a second, if AEA can raise the half that isn't federal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
More from Infrastructure
Peterson Avenue closes this weekend for a utility line, detour in place
Peterson Avenue near Halibut Point Road closes this weekend for a utility line across both lanes. There's no set detour, so follow the signs and flaggers.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Three years and three permits later, Ketchikan's airport ferry still has no backup berths
Ketchikan's airport ferry docks at one set of berths with no backup. Three years and three federal permits later, the state hasn't driven a pile.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage wants to buy three new garbage trucks for about $1.47 million
Anchorage's trash utility wants three new garbage trucks for about $1.47 million, and a bulk-purchasing deal shaved roughly $282,000 off the sticker price.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Sitka Street railroad crossing rebuild will cost Anchorage $91,000 more than agreed
Anchorage's Sitka Street railroad crossing rebuild will cost about $91,000 more than agreed after high bids — a tab that falls on nearby property owners.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Hillside road area may spend far more than planned after erosion damage
A small Hillside neighborhood that maintains its own roads may spend nearly $99,000 this year — up from about $21,000 — after ice and spring runoff caused heavy road erosion.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage approves $40,000 to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan
Anchorage approved $40,000, almost all of it federal, to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan after new flight procedures changed what it must show.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's aging viaducts, part of a plan to repair them now and replace them later
Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's two 1950s viaducts, which carry 14,000-plus vehicles a day, as the state plans to repair them and replace them later.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's largest fisheries lab swaps ozone for ultraviolet to treat its water
Alaska's largest fisheries research lab is swapping ozone for ultraviolet light to disinfect its water. A Juneau plumbing firm won the $155,653 job.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Coming up
Haines Borough Ports and Harbors Advisory Committee Meeting
Assembly Chambers, 315 Haines Highway, Haines, AK, and Zoom (Meeting ID 833 2336 7111, passcode 744008)
Meeting
Alaska Energy Authority Tax-Exempt Bonds Public Hearing
Hearing
Valdez City Council Work Session: High School Renovation Project
Meeting
Haines Borough Assembly Regular Meeting
Meeting
Loring Service Area Board Meeting
Meeting
About Infrastructure
Infrastructure in Alaska takes in the physical systems that communities build and maintain, including roads and bridges, water and sewer lines, power grids, ports, harbors, docks and airports. State, municipal and federal agencies manage this work alongside utilities and tribal organizations.
Much of it is paid for with federal grants, state money and local loans, from airport grants to rail and grid awards. Recurring questions involve aging structures such as failing weirs, cracked bridges and worn water pipes, seismic retrofits, and the cost of replacing village fuel tanks and buildings in remote places where freight is expensive.
Infrastructure connects closely to energy, utility rates and economic development. Decisions about a single dock, pipe or road often fall to a city council or borough assembly, which weighs grants, loans and design options before work begins.
More from Infrastructure
The bridge meant to reopen half of Denali is running behind, new permits suggest
The bridge meant to reopen half of Denali is running behind: its federal finish date has passed, but new permits seek staging space through 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Juneau weighs $5.5 million more for flood recovery on a river that floods every year
Juneau is putting another $5.5 million toward flood recovery. The city still calls the Mendenhall barriers temporary and hasn't said who pays long term.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
DOT says cameras don't read plates; vendor policy allows video storage
Alaska says new cameras in Palmer, Wasilla and Anchorage count people and cars, not plates — but the vendor's policy sets no limit on storing video.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan's long rebuild of the road toward Saxman inches ahead, with a waterside path and a tangle over land
Ketchikan's rebuild of the highway toward Saxman, adding a waterside path for walkers and bikers, drew more federal money as cost estimates keep swinging.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Three Hillside road districts are dipping into savings as maintenance costs outrun their funding
Three self-funded Hillside road districts are drawing $145,000 from their own savings for road maintenance, as costs outrun what they collect in taxes.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kodiak fights landfill bears with a second fence and a look at composting
Bears keep breaking into Kodiak's landfill, so the borough is fighting back two ways: a fence to keep them out and composting to cut the waste that draws them.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Nome buses roll as Steadman Street reopening goes unconfirmed
Nome school buses roll this morning down a street the state said would reopen Friday. The state's own weekly update does not say whether it actually did.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
The state wants $293M to rebuild 5th and 6th, but the funding isn't settled
The state wants Anchorage to program $293 million to rebuild 5th and 6th avenues downtown, but where the money comes from is unsettled.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A $3.73 million contract will fix water intrusion at the Anchorage VA
A $3.73 million federal contract will fix water intrusion at the Anchorage VA Medical Center — a year of work by a Palmer firm, starting in September.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 10
Homer planning commission asked to name Spit erosion, public works campus and harbor floats as top capital projects
Homer's planning commission votes Wednesday on three capital projects to recommend to city council: Spit erosion protection, a new public works campus, and $2.2 million in harbor float repairs.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
CDC orders $1.4 million more Atlanta construction from an Anchorage firm
CDC awarded Anchorage firm MTNT Construction $1.4 million in federal construction orders over five days in August, but the agency did not disclose what the work is for or where it will happen.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
Alaska will build software to help inspect its bridges
Alaska's transportation department won a $126,917 federal grant to build computer vision tools that read bridge photos and flag defects for inspectors.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Skagway ferry port closed indefinitely; state gives no repair timeline
Skagway's ferry dock is broken and the port is closed indefinitely. The state's entire public explanation fits in one undated website alert.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Hoonah and Ketchikan dock projects renew marine mammal permits without breaking ground
Two Southeast dock projects keep renewing federal permits to make noise underwater. The permits keep expiring. The water remains undisturbed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Trucks keep hitting the Tudor Road overpass. The rebuild is years out
Federal Highway Administration added $912,130 to rebuild the Seward Highway and Tudor Road interchange, one of Anchorage's busiest, with construction now targeted for 2029 or 2030.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Homer's library wants a remodel, starting with a $75,000 study
Homer's library wants a remodel, a teen room, a bigger meeting room, a covered outdoor space and more storage, starting with a $75,000 study to price it out.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Feds move to fast-track a Juneau flood-control fix by cutting permitting and paperwork
Days after another Juneau outburst flood forced evacuations, federal agencies are fast-tracking a flood-control fix for the valley by cutting the red tape.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
A Navy ship tore a cleat off Kodiak's pier in a 100-mph storm
Replacing a mooring cleat a Navy ship tore off Kodiak's Pier II in a 100-mph storm will cost $72,500, and the city report doesn't say whether the Navy owes reimbursement.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kodiak council to vote on $100,000 for aging wastewater plant electrical controls
Kodiak City Council votes Thursday on $100,000 to replace aging electrical controls at the wastewater plant before equipment failures disrupt operations.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Davidoff Street closes Saturday morning for Sitka manhole repair
Somebody blew their lid. I'm just kidding, but the road will be closed down temporarily.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A $1.8M grant to plan safer paths near Cantwell, with two catches
A $1.8 million grant will plan biking and walking paths on a dangerous Parks Highway stretch near Cantwell — but who runs it, and who'd plow them, is unclear.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
Alaska will test whether Starlink can keep its road crews online in the bush
Alaska will test whether Starlink can keep its road crews and equipment connected in the bush, in a state already home to more than 60,000 of the dishes.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
A faulting cable under the Loussac Library would cost the city a permanent easement
Anchorage Assembly will vote Tuesday on letting Chugach Electric replace a failing power cable under Loussac Library at no cost to the city.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
One rough winter tore up Hillside roads, and self-funded neighborhoods are footing the bill
One rough winter tore up a Hillside neighborhood's roads enough that its self-funded maintenance budget would nearly quintuple, and other areas want the same.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
