olyseal Insulation recently purchased Mobile Concrete and Grout of Alaska, or MCGA, and renamed the company Polyseal/MCGA. The purchase has been in the works since October of 2023, and papers were signed at the end of January 2024. Terry Waschke, the previous owner of MCGA, will be acting in a consulting capacity for MCGA services.
Polyseal’s existing services will not change. The company plans to focus on being the best spray foam and structural geo foam company in the state of Alaska. However, the purchase adds a list of tools to Polyseal’s existing kit. The company’s services now include slip-line grouting, batching, superbag mixes, remote concrete work, void filling or abandonments, compaction grouting, full service spray foam, deep injection, foundation lifting, helical piers, slab lifting, and attic restoration.
Popiel is a licensed architect who holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Washington University. Projects he has worked on include the Alaska State Library, Archives & Museum in Juneau; Mt. Edgecumbe High School Aquatic Center in Sitka; Kelsey Dock Interpretive Center in Valdez; and Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak. Popiel holds credentials for Leader in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional and certification by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Popiel works out of Bettisworth North’s Anchorage office, regularly traveling to the firm’s Fairbanks office and project sites across the state.
t the AGC of America national convention held in March in San Diego, AGC of Alaska member Knik Construction was awarded the AGC Build America Award for its Nome Storm Emergency Repairs.
The Build America awards honor AGC members who build the nation’s most impressive construction projects ranging across the building, highway and transportation, utility infrastructure, and federal and heavy divisions. Build America winners excel in the areas of state-of-the-art advancement, project management, innovation in construction techniques or materials, safety record, client service, community relations, environmental sensitivity, and partnering excellence.
Benham received two bachelor of science degrees in chemical engineering and biological engineering from Montana State University. She has nine years of experience in the refining industry as a process control and control systems engineer and brings a new capability to Coffman’s line of services.
Her experience includes control system design and automation, alarm and safety systems, instrumentation, and distributed control system, or DCS, configuration. Prior to joining Coffman, she served as a process control engineer on the Marathon Martinez Renewable Fuels project and at Marathon Kenai Refinery. She also supported two separate DCS modernization projects during her time at Anvil for Shell’s Puget Sound Refinery.
“We are thrilled to have Amber join the Coffman team. Her experience and skillset with process control and safety systems complements many of the services we provide and expands upon the engineering services we are able to support our valued clients with. We welcome Amber and congratulate her on becoming Coffman’s first professional control systems engineer and look forward to her future here at Coffman,” say principal electrical engineers Logan Haines, PE, and Nicholai Smith, PE, who both lead the Anchorage office’s electrical department.
DR’s Seward Highway Mile 75-90 Road and Bridge Rehabilitation project received a Grand Award at the American Council of Engineering Companies, or ACEC’s, 57th Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on May 15 in Washington, DC. ACEC represents nearly 6,000 firms that employ more than 600,000 industry experts. A panel of nearly thirty judges selected the year’s most outstanding engineering accomplishments from more than 200 entries, in what’s known as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry.”
The 15-mile, $138 million road and bridge rehabilitation project transformed the Seward Highway. The team straightened curves; rebuilt or rehabilitated and seismically upgraded nine bridges; provided 5 miles of passing lanes in each direction and turn lanes at critical intersections; repaved the entire stretch; enhanced pedestrian facilities; improved drainage; and protected shorelines. With three new underpasses and an extended multimodal scenic trail, the project increases pedestrian safety and improves access to recreational spots.
IC Commercial Services is consolidating two of its subsidiaries into a new civil construction division. HC Contractors, an Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska member, and Qayaq Construction are the components of the newly formed Alaska Civil Construction. UIC Commercial Services is a holding line for several subsidiaries of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation, or UIC, the village corporation for Utqiaġvik. In 2022, UIC acquired North Pole-based HC Contractors, founded by Bill Hoople in 1993. Hoople remains as chairman of HC Construction Holdings. Alaska Civil Construction is led by Vice President Kodi Long, who also serves as general manager for Qayaq Construction. Since 2020, his leadership efforts have resulted in building a highly skilled and dedicated Qayaq team.
ND Engineers, Inc. recently promoted three engineers in its Anchorage office: Jared Kinney, PE; Kannon Lee, PE; and Taylor Mortensen, PE. All three engineers, two of whom were born and raised in Alaska, recently passed their Principles & Practice of Engineering exams in Alaska and were promoted to PND senior engineers.
Kinney, a Chugiak High School and University of Alaska Anchorage alumnus, has more than five years of professional civil engineering experience in Alaska. Kinney was hired at PND in November 2023. His primary practice at PND will be hydraulic and hydrologic engineering projects, specializing in site improvements, drainage, and sewer and wastewater utilities.
Lee has a bachelor of arts degree in history from Dartmouth College, a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and a master’s degree in geotechnical engineering from the University of Alaska Anchorage, with a focus on stability, seismic engineering, and frozen ground engineering. Lee, who was hired in April 2019, conducted his thesis on “Predicting Thaw Penetration and Permafrost Subsidence due to Warming Air Temperatures on Alaska’s North Slope.”
Mortensen, a West Anchorage High School and Montana State University alumnus, is a former flight engineer with the US Navy. Mortensen, who was hired at PND in May 2019, has provided marine structural engineering and bridge design and inspection services throughout Alaska. He is a certified Federal Highway Administration Team Leader and Industrial Rope Access Trade Association International Level 1 Rope Access Technician.
S Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, announced in May that the new national online application portal and management platform, known as the Regulatory Request System, or RRS, now includes an electronic submission option for permit applications. This platform has been introduced to modernize USACE’s permit application process and to address users’ expectations by providing a straightforward and transparent process for the submittal of permit requests.
RRS is a web-based platform currently in a beta version that enables users to submit pre-application meeting requests, jurisdictional determination requests, and now applications for individual and general permits. This new system aims to streamline the process, improve efficiency, and provide a more user-friendly experience for our applicants. USACE encourages users to explore and utilize the new RRS to take advantage of its benefits and features. The RSS can be seen at rrs.usace.army.mil. A link to the RRS is available on the USACE-Alaska District Regulatory homepage as well.