Anchorage Mayor: $290 Million Needed for Port

By Mark Edward Nero

In Jan. 7 address to a group of regional lawmakers, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz requested that a statewide bond package include $290 million for the city’s unfinished Port of Anchorage modernization project.

Berkowitz, who took office July 1, 2015, said he’s making the port the city’s sole priority in the upcoming state legislative session.

Berkowitz seeks affiliation with Alaska Gov. Bill Walker’s anticipated $500 million, two-year general obligation bond package to replace most of the state’s capital budget.

The bond package, which has not yet been introduced, would be on the November ballot, and Berkowitz said he would like to see the port package added to the bond compendium.

The port modernization project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, was overseen by the US Maritime Administration until the US Army Corps of Engineers took control in May 2012. The expansion was originally estimated to cost $360 million and was supposed to be finished by 2011.

Instead, cost estimates have jumped to about $1 billion and climbing, and completion isn’t expected for another decade. Engineering firm CH2M HILL now serves as expansion’s project manager.

In November 2014, then-Mayor Dan Sullivan revealed a concept plan for a Port of Anchorage overhaul to the Anchorage State Assembly. The concept, chosen by an evaluation committee, includes replacing Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, demolishing the current port administration building and constructing a new one elsewhere.

The plan also includes minimizing the investment in an extension at the port’s northern end, something that had been underway, and caused more than its share of problems, for years.

About 87 percent of Alaska residents are served in some way by products coming through the port, according to Anchorage officials.

Three Anchorage Port Expansion Finalists Chosen

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Anchorage says that after a weeklong series of meetings, it has narrowed down its list of designs to complete a long-planned expansion of the port to three. However, the designs will not be publicly released until one is recommended for approval in November, according to the office of Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan.

The port of Anchorage began a week-long collaborative Concept Planning Charrette in mid-August to identify and refine concept designs for the port modernization project, which has been in the works for more than a decade. The project was overseen by the US Maritime Administration until the US Army Corps of Engineers took control in May 2012.

The expansion was originally estimated to cost $360 million and was supposed to be finished by 2011. Instead, cost estimates have jumped to about $1 billion and climbing and completion isn’t expected for another decade.

The five-day Concept Planning Charrette was a workshop that involved key stakeholders directly in identifying operational constraints, known risks and user priorities. Over 50 individuals representing port users and vessel operators, technical and subject matter experts and port and Municipality of Anchorage leadership participated in the meetings, which was conducted by a program management consultant team, led by engineering firm CH2M HILL, which serves as expansion’s current project manager.

By the conclusion of the event, the port had identified three preliminary design concepts from the viewpoint of technical experts and port users.

“This is a critical step in preparing the port for the future,” Mayor Sullivan said. “Alaska needs a modern, reliable port to ensure dependable cargo service for Southcentral Alaska and beyond for decades to come.”

The port is expected to develop the concepts to a preliminary 15 percent design level by November 2014, at which time a recommended concept design is to be presented to the city for approval.

Defendants in Anchorage Port Suit Seek Dismissal

Three companies being sued by the City of Anchorage for alleging mismanaging an expansion of the Port of Anchorage are trying to have the suit dismissed.

Project construction manager Integrated Concepts and Research Corp., known as ICRC; designer PND Engineers; and engineering and construction company CH2M Hill were sued in March 2013 by the city. In mid-April, all three companies filed motions with the US District Court in Anchorage denying liability and seeking to have the lawsuit thrown out.

Anchorage’s suit came in the wake of a late 2012 report that revealed three of four new sections built at the port were not constructed correctly, and due to shifting land, could fail during an earthquake.

The $2.2 million, 2,200-page sustainability study was conducted by CH2M Hill on behalf of the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the US Army Corps of Engineers. It says the danger comes mainly from a foundation system called Open Cell Sheet Pile, or OCSP, where instead of building a traditional dock on piling, interlocking sheets of steel are hammered into the sea floor to form U-shaped cells, which are then backfilled with dirt and gravel.

Due to the problems, most construction of the project was halted in 2010.

The city seeks an unspecified amount in damages in its lawsuit, but the expansion, which has been in the works for more than a decade, was originally estimated to cost $360 million, and was supposed to be complete by 2011.

Instead, cost estimates have jumped to more than $1 billion and continue to climb. Project completion is at least a decade away, according to port estimates.

Port of Anchorage Dock Construction Could Be Undone

Most of the work to build new dock areas at the Port of Anchorage as part of an expansion project could be undone because of improper construction, the city and port officials say.

The deconstruction option was one of three possibilities discussed by officials during a three-day session regarding the project.

The mid-December work session came weeks after a report found that three of four new sections built at the port were not constructed correctly, and due to shifting land, could fail during an earthquake.

The $2.2 million, 2,200-page sustainability study was conducted by engineering firm CH2M Hill on behalf of the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the US Army Corps of Engineers. It says the danger comes mainly from a foundation system called Open Cell Sheet Pile, or OCSP, where instead of building a traditional dock on piling, interlocking sheets of steel are hammered into the sea floor to form U-shaped cells, which are then backfilled with dirt and gravel.

Due to the problems, most construction of the project was halted in 2010.

The Corps requested the study be conducted after it assumed control of the Port of Anchorage expansion project from MARAD on May 31.

Officials from the port, Corps of Engineers and MARAD were present during the study session. One option discussed over the course of the three days was that two major port tenants, Horizon Lines and Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE), would remain at their current berths and that a new deep water berth and a barge berth would be built after the damaged material now there is removed.

Another option was the temporary movement of TOTE and Horizon from their existing terminals while the old terminals are demolished and rebuilt. A third, so-called hybrid option would be to replace two of the existing terminals on the old dock and build a new deep-water berth.

The expansion, which has been in the works for more than a decade, was originally estimated to cost $360 million, and was supposed to be complete by 2011. Instead, cost estimates have jumped to more than $1 billion and continue to climb. A completion date is at least a decade away, according to port estimates.

Anchorage Port Design Seriously Flawed, Engineers Say

Three of four new sections built at the Port of Anchorage were not constructed correctly, and due to shifting land, could fail during an earthquake, a federally commissioned study has found.

The danger comes mainly from a foundation system called Open Cell Sheet Pile, or OCSP, where instead of building a traditional dock on piling, interlocking sheets of steel are hammered into the sea floor to form U-shaped cells, which are then backfilled with dirt and gravel.

“The suitability study determined that the OCSP system is not adequately designed to meet global stability and seismic displacements based on the design criteria,” the report states. “The study also concludes that the open cell system is adequately designed to meet initial internal stability structural design requirements, assuming it was constructed without defects. However, at the end of 50 years, it will be slightly over‐stressed due to corrosion and will not meet safety standards.”

The $2.2 million sustainability study was conducted by engineering firm CH2M Hill on behalf of the US Maritime Administration and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps requested the study be conducted after it assumed control of the Port of Anchorage expansion project from MARAD on May 31.

The expansion, which has been in the works for more than a decade, was originally estimated to cost $360 million, and was supposed to be complete by 2011. Instead, cost estimates have jumped to more than $1 billion and continue to climb. A completion date is at least a decade away, according to port estimates.