hile US Olympians were preparing for the games in Paris, Alaska businesses were celebrating the results of this year’s Best of Alaska Business awards. Each year, the readers of Alaska Business magazine vote for their favorite businesses across several categories. The top three receive Alaska’s version of medals: the Denali, St. Elias, and Foraker awards.

The award categories are evaluated by the Alaska Business editorial and management teams, taking into consideration current business and industry trends along with the prior year’s data. Categories are sometimes adjusted based on trends or reader feedback. The Best of Alaska Business awards have no relationship with or effect on advertising, making them truly the people’s choice.

In 2024, Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska members dominated several relevant categories, which speaks volumes about the reputation and work ethic of AGC members.

Founded in 1955, Landye Bennett Blumstein provides legal services across several fields including administrative law, advocacy, appellate, aviation, bankruptcy, business, civil, construction, environmental, estate planning, fisheries, housing, intellectual property, liability defense, municipal, native and tribal, natural resource, products liability, and real estate law.

The firm also maintains the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA, Resource Center which compiles, organizes, and presents source documents relative to ANCSA. The resource center aims to be the broadest source of information relating to ANCSA.

LBB attorneys say winning the best law firm award affirms their dedication to achieving excellence in every outcome and underscores their commitment to their clients and community.

Since its founding in 1993, Cornerstone General Contractors has completed numerous significant projects across the state. Landmark buildings include the Alaska Airlines Center, Cook Inlet Tribal Council headquarters, and Providence Alaska Medical Center, in addition to educational facilities, housing, and industrial projects. The company’s work benefits both cities and remote communities. Its work is found from the Southeast to the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and Alaska’s far west coast.

“Cornerstone’s mission is to build a better Alaska, which we believe can only be accomplished by delivering the best construction experience for all involved—from our teammates and clients to our designers and subcontractors,” says Cornerstone president Joe Jolley. “Being recognized as one of the top general contractors in Alaska lets us know that we are on the right track.”

This is the ninth consecutive year that Alaska Business magazine readers voted First National as the Best Place to Work. And it is the fourth time the bank has received the title of Best Bank/Credit Union.

“Thank you, Alaska!” exclaims First National Board Chair and CEO/President Betsy Lawer. “Another big win for our dedicated employees who consistently nurture a well-connected workplace. As Alaska’s community bank, we are committed to the welfare of our employees, customers, and the community, laying the groundwork for a brighter future for all Alaskans.”

Founded by Winfield Ervin Sr. in 1922, First National has continually guided Alaskans through financial decisions for 103 years. As Alaska’s largest locally owned and operated bank, First National manages assets worth billions of dollars and has also served the community by supporting Alaska contractors statewide. The bank has twenty-eight locations in nineteen communities throughout the state.

Photos provided by First National Bank Alaska

With regard to the Best Bank/Credit Union and Best Customer Service awards, Kotzebue-based Toby Drake, the owner of Drake Construction and a First National customer, notes, “I like that First National Bank Alaska is a homegrown institution that can make quick, Alaska-based decisions. The bankers at First National are responsive to my needs and listen to my ideas. Together, we figure issues out so I can manage the short, busy construction season in Western Alaska.”

orts and harbors are as Alaskan as blueberries and salmon. More than a place to park a boat, they are keys to commerce and community along coastal Alaska.

Port and harbor construction and maintenance projects are happening around the state; however, the development of these projects isn’t as straightforward as projects along the state road system and Alaska Marine Highway. The facilities’ owners and location often determine how quickly projects are funded and addressed.

“If we own it, the money for construction and maintenance comes through DOT through state appropriations,” says Kirk Miller, preconstruction engineer in DOT&PF’s Southcoast region. “The amount we formerly received was small, usually around $1 million for projects. It’s been about 5 years since we received state funding for harbors, but this year there was $1 million included in the budget. We don’t have any federal aid for harbors.”

The Alaska Marine Highway receives Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, funding, but that money cannot go to any marine project outside that system. Miller says state-owned ports and harbors are eligible for other types of federal funding in narrow circumstances. For instance, Federal Aviation Administration funding is available for seaplane floats; however, it does not allow the building of moorage floats for boats.

Photo provided by the City of Homer

“FHWA and most other federal aid doesn’t support harbor infrastructure,” says Miller. “We have seen several communities successfully apply for grant programs, but these are harbors related to freight, fuel docks, and places with heavy industrial connections.”

For anyone living near a harbor, its necessity is apparent. Miller says harbors are the lifeblood of smaller coastal communities and, for some, their only access point. He says commercial fishermen with small fleets and owners of small charter operations often live in these communities. Likewise, these harbors also serve as a refuge for vessels needing protection when nearby waters get rough. Unfortunately, many of these small harbors don’t have a way to collect moorage fees that generate revenue. Miller says many don’t have a means to collect moorage, adequate technology for an electronic payment system, or a large enough population to employ someone for the job.

“When a terrible storm hits one of these harbors, we send [DOT&PF] Maintenance and Operations or contract repairs,” says Miller. “We find the money somehow for these types of emergency projects.”

He says larger ports and harbors like those in Seward, Valdez, and Homer are in a slightly different situation, as they have large populations that can pay rent for boat moorage and contribute to the coffers for facility improvements.

Photo provided by the City of Homer

“These are not new problems,” says Bryan Hawkins, port director. “We’ve been at overcapacity with a very long waitlist for over twenty years. As a regional port, we have a very large user group with a diverse fleet.”

The Homer Harbor Expansion General Investigation began in March 2023 when the city signed a federal cost share agreement with USACE for the feasibility study. Jenny Carroll, Homer’s special projects and communications coordinator, says the feasibility study is how USACE determines if a water resource project merits federal investment. She says USACE worked with the city and community to draw up a set of needs-based objectives and develop ideas on how a new harbor design can help meet those objectives, namely improving navigational safety and efficiency by better accommodating large vessels and relieving overcrowding and congestion in the existing harbor. This resulted in a set of conceptual alternatives that USACE is currently developing to meet demand and perform effectively in the local ecological and oceanic conditions.

“The [USACE] will evaluate and refine each alternative using models of local baseline conditions and share them for community input before selecting one that is the most cost-effective with minimal environmental impact,” says Carroll. “The community will then have another opportunity to comment.”

Graphic provided by the City of Homer

HDR is providing the City of Homer with owner’s representative services focused on supporting the feasibility study. HDR delivers various services, including architecture, asset management, commissioning and operations, economics and finance, engineering, environmental sciences, planning and consulting, project delivery, real estate, research, sustainability and resilience programs, and strategic communications. Since HDR is the project’s owner’s representative, the City of Homer can access any of HDR’s services during this project phase.

“Specifically, HDR is supporting the city and USACE with alternatives developed using sophisticated coastal numerical modeling, geophysical/geotechnical investigations, and topographic/hydrographic surveying,” says Ronny McPherson, the Homer Harbor Expansion project manager at HDR. “Additionally, we are providing strategic communications that support the city in collaboratively engaging the community and delivering the study in a transparent manner.”

McPherson says that owner’s representative services are set up using a stage-gate method, which allows the city to arrive at a major milestone, take a step back, and assess how things are going. City leaders can then decide whether to proceed to the next stage or course correct as needed.

“HDR can support major infrastructure projects through all life stages,” says McPherson.

The feasibility study costs $4.15 million, with USACE covering half and the City of Homer with support from the State of Alaska paying for the other half. Hawkins emphasizes that Homer is a central hub that serves communities and industries around the state. The harbor serves vessels active in commercial fisheries statewide, and is an essential link between AK Highway A-1 and several US marine highways. Vessels from Homer Harbor enable freight shipping from Seattle and Asia to the Port of Alaska and serve Cook Inlet, the Eastern Aleutian Islands, Lake Clark, Lake Iliamna and Bristol Bay, Yukon and Kuskokwim River villages, and coastal communities up to Kotzebue on the northwest Bering Sea coast. Smaller nearby communities rely on the harbor to access mainland Alaska and to ship essential goods to their homes.

“A harbor is more than a place to park a boat,” says Hawkins. “To understand the whole story, follow the life of a boat.”

The newly opened Cordova South Harbor is a comprehensive replacement project that resulted in one of Alaska’s largest single-basin harbors. Turnagain Marine rebuilt the aging infrastructure to include 96,000 square feet of new float surface for vessel docking and storage. New gangways and floats were installed alongside new trestles and pilings, increasing the capacity of both the South and North harbor to 700. Turnagain Marine also enhanced the harbor parking area by installing a new bulkhead wall.

Turnagain Marine began construction in January 2024 and completed the final electrical and mechanical details in August. Jason Davis, president of Turnagain Marine, says the project required a quick turnaround since the harbor is a vital piece of community infrastructure.

“After sixty years, the aging facility was in horrible shape, and it was more beneficial to fix it quickly than waiting for another year,” says Davis.

The harbor is the economic engine for Cordova, which ranks among the top twenty fishing ports in the nation. In 2022, fishing operations delivered an estimated 65.3 million pounds of seafood, valued at $76.4 million, to the harbor. The rebuild cost around $40 million, with primary funding from the US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, supplemented by contributions from the City of Cordova capital improvement project funds, state and federal government funding, and a $5 million voter-approved bond. User fees and taxes will cover the operating costs of the new facility.

Photos provided by Turnagain Marine Construction

The new facility will feature a floating double-berth pier engineered to accommodate modern cruise ships and facilitate the safe and efficient embarkment and disembarkment of passengers and provisioning vehicles. The pier will have built-in support for provisioning fresh water, fuel from a local vendor, and shore power. In addition, a new 68,000-square-foot turn port terminal building will provide visitors with a seamless transition to an ARRC train or other ground transportation.

“This project has reached many milestones since its inception,” says Mickey Richardson, CEO of Port of Tomorrow, a public/private project consisting of ARRC, Royal Caribbean Group, and Turnagain Marine Construction, represented by the Seward Company. “We are in this together, all the way to the grand opening event in May 2026.”

Turnagain Marine is currently in the permit and pre-construction phase, with plans to begin construction when the 2024 Alaska cruise season ends. Davis says they are not shutting the cruise port down while building the new facility, which means working in very specific windows across a tight timeline. Once they mobilize, crews will work throughout winter.

According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association, the visitor industry is Alaska’s second-largest private-sector employer, with an economic impact of $5.6 billion in 2022/2023. Seward plays a significant role in that industry through cruise ship operations. The purchase agreement signed by ARRC grants Royal Caribbean preferential berth rights; however, ARRC will continue to own and operate the facility as an open dock for multiple brands traveling to Seward.

PND is on the verge of completing a small boat harbor project in Valdez that began in 2021. The project includes replacing floats H through K, utility upgrades, new gangways, and a tour dock float system for tour boats. PND provided comprehensive project services such as planning, permitting, and design through construction support. A combination of DOT&PF grants and local money is funding the $12 million project. Thieman expects the project to be completed this fall.

Whittier is in the pre-construction phases of a harbor float replacement project. PND is working with Harris Sand & Gravel and Bellingham Marine, a marine float supplier, to design and install replacement floats for the A, G, and H float systems. They will also upgrade utilities and upland infrastructure. Thieman says DOT&PF transferred ownership of the harbor to Whittier in the early ‘00s, and the city is now renovating the ‘80s floats system to continue supporting businesses and other economic enterprises.

The Port of Nome Modification Project is a significant and complex effort aimed at enhancing the port’s capabilities to accommodate larger vessels, improving operational efficiency, and becoming the only deep-draft port in the Arctic. The project collaboration between the City of Nome and USACE is making notable progress on Phase I, which will achieve several critical enhancements. The existing armor stone causeway will be extended by 3,500 feet, adding 2,000 feet of new dock and moorage space, along with additional acres of usable uplands area for the port. The water depth will be increased to 40 feet, which will eliminate the need for lightering passengers from larger cruise ships and offloading fuel from tankers that supply the remote community with its energy needs. Thieman says PND is responsible for designing the new dock facilities for Phase I, a crucial component of the broader development led by USACE. Following the first phase, PND will continue with the city and USACE on Phases II and III for further expanding the port’s capabilities, ensuring the northernmost deepwater port can efficiently handle larger vessels and increased maritime traffic in the region.

“Ports and harbors are critically important to waterfront communities,” says Thieman. “A harbor is the heart of the economic engine for marine communities; having modern and efficient facilities makes it easier to meet the needs of any industry working there.”

CG Explore Design’s guiding principle, “The best architecture inspires and unites people,” is reflected in the unique buildings it designs.

An award-winning architecture, planning, and interior design firm headquartered in Anchorage, MCG’s projects span Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, California, and Hawaii.

“We’ve built in probably every sector of the state,” says MCG Marketing Director Rob Culbertson.

Red-listed materials, he explains, are those that contain toxins and carcinogens.

The company also abides by other environmental standards such as the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification, which provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.

The company designed Machetanz Elementary School in Wasilla in 2010, which was the first LEED-certified school in the state.

The school’s classes are flexible, catering to students who are primarily homeschooled. Students might go there to take a math lab or a guitar lesson or to take part in the school’s musical theater camp workshops, so the building’s design needed to meet the needs of students and faculty.

Assistant Principal Nathan Chud says the experience of working with MCG was “incredible.”

“In the negotiations, they listened very well to what we wanted,” he says. “Anytime we did a walk-through with one of the architects, they were professional and prepared. Every time we had a concern about something we wanted to think about, they already had an answer.”

“Our firm uses a super-collaborative model to communicate with the design team and contractors,” says John Weir, principal architect at MCG. “We believe in being good partners throughout the process to reinforce the importance of excellence and deliver for our clients and the community.”

Currently under construction, the school is scheduled to open in the spring. The 45,000-square-foot building is the ninth new school that the MCG has designed over the past decade.

The bright new wing added a much needed 30,000 square feet of gallery space, allowing the museum to dive deep into its collections and bring out more items to display for museum goers.

Additional spaces included a new temporary gallery, patrons lounge, administrative offices, and informal galleries that connect to the recently renovated atrium, also designed by MCG, as well as expansion of the hands-on Imaginarium Discovery Center and an outdoor patio for public programs.

“Museum architecture, when it is successful, embodies its purpose: to allow the works within it to tell their stories,” says Julie Decker, Anchorage Museum director and CEO.

“The Anchorage Museum’s new wing helps tell the story of Alaska and the North. The very materials used in the architecture of the wing reflect a sense of place—in this case, Anchorage, Alaska, a Northern city within a sub-arctic landscape.”

“It’s a real strong market sector for us,” he says.

Government contracting has the benefit of giving MCG the opportunity to work on large contracts.

“The C Terminal at Ted Stevens International Airport was the largest, and that was in the $100 million category,” he says.

MCG has a long history designing for aviation clients and is working on several projects currently under construction at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, including the NorthLink South Campus E-Commerce and Express Cargo Terminal with Cornerstone Construction. This terminal will address the urgent need for new cargo infrastructure to support the continued growth of Anchorage.

Weir says the firm’s success lies in its collaboration with contractors, particularly fellow Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska members.

“AGC represents a keystone in our community, connecting design firms like ours to the contracting industry. We appreciate their dedication to building the future,” says Weir. “One of the aspects of MCG that has been particularly successful is that we are flexible around the craftsmen that are actually building the building. At the end of the day, architects just draw—it’s contractors that make it real, and we respect that.”

hen it’s time to start a construction or renovation project and the ground beneath it needs stabilizing, Strata Deep Constructors is the business to call.

“Strata Deep Constructors is a specialized subcontractor, and we basically install all manners of deep foundations,” says owner Ben Cruz. “Everything from a 6-inch driven piling for a light pole in Anchorage all the way up to an 8.5-foot diameter drill shaft foundation to support a 200-foot-tall tower: We cover the little stuff all the way up to the big stuff.”

Strata Deep is a seven-year-old company that employs a highly-trained crew equipped with the latest in technology to provide a solid base for any project. “We don’t try to go out and pour the concrete for the bridge or set the girders or any of that,” Cruz says. “We are only interested in fixing the conditions in the ground.”

He adds, “There is not another contractor in the state of Alaska that can perform the plethora of techniques of deep foundation work that we can perform.”

“What Alaska was missing was a qualified ground improvement contractor that was based up here,” Cruz says.

So he launched Strata Deep in 2017. The following year’s earthquake provided him with ample opportunities for rapid growth.

For example, Strata Deep was contracted to upgrade the ground under the Glenn Highway at Mirror Lake, where the southbound lane had slid. “The state had engineered the installation of about 1,200 aggregate stone columns, and we went out and were very successful in executing that project on schedule and within the budget that we had submitted,” Cruz recalls.

It was Strata Deep’s largest project to date, and he notes that it “thrust us into being Alaska’s premier ground improvement contractor.”

While working on post-earthquake upgrades, Cruz says, “We were able to purchase equipment to keep in Alaska. So now we’ve been able to capitalize on that and continue to build on that project.”

Strata grew its reputation through offering ground improvement techniques including aggregate stone columns, dynamic compaction, and vibro compaction. The company has completed jobs all over Alaska, including difficult work providing stable foundation conditions on permafrost.

“Where some of the other contractors might have pile-driving equipment and cranes or maybe drill rigs, they’re not tackling the technical issues. They’re doing more of the ancillary kind of work,” Cruz explains. “At Strata, we really are a technology company. A lot of our equipment is configured for logging this and providing proof of the improvements that we do.”

He adds, “One of the major differences between myself and my competitors is the ability to satisfy what the engineers want to see.”

Strata Deep’s satisfied customers include Wes Kolb, director of wireless operations at New Horizons Telecom.

“Strata is my go-to for any job calling for a deep foundation,” Kolb says. “Not only have they demonstrated capability beyond compare, Ben and his team go above and beyond to ensure their customer is satisfied. 10 out of 10, will use again.”

Strata Deep excels using a workforce that includes crane operators and certified welders, two employees focusing on computer and control systems, and several engineers that Cruz has come to know and calls on when he needs technical information.

“We took an incredible amount of risk and educated ourselves continuously, brought the right people to the table, and we have been able to thrust ourselves into, in my opinion, being Alaska’s most technically qualified deep foundation contractor,” Cruz says.

All of this makes Strata Deep Constructors an unmatched force in Alaska construction.

“It’s the melding of man, machine, and technology to do what we do,” Cruz explains. “That’s where the industry is going, and we want to take it there.”

n a new initiative aimed at addressing critical workforce shortages and creating job opportunities for Alaskans in a rapidly growing industry, the Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska has partnered with University of Alaska, or UA, leadership to establish an endowment. This collaborative effort is focused on bolstering industry training and providing essential support to fill gaps in the state’s construction workforce.

“Alaska is a unique place to live, and we do very well retaining our home-grown talent,” says Marcus Trivette, president of Brice, Inc. and AGC president. “It’s an important part of our workforce to have people who are committed to sticking around in Alaska and want to live here, and it’s nice to have the ability to get relevant training here for people who might want to join the industry.”

In April, the full AGC board of directors voted to contribute $200,000 toward an endowment supporting construction industry training. The endowment will continue to grow and support the university system’s construction-related programs. Over the course of two years, nearly $900,000 was invested to support this initiative. Industry and individual donors contributed $492,000, including the $200,000 from AGC—the largest single gift to the initiative—while UA President Pat Pitney directly committed $400,000 in university funds.

“The Construction Management Workforce Initiative highlights the power of philanthropy and partnership in post-secondary education,” Pitney says. “Thanks to Meg [Nordale’s] vision and the generosity of AGC and other private donors, this initiative is helping build the construction workforce our state needs. I’m grateful for each and every supporter; their investment in UA allows us to empower Alaska, and improve the lives of our students.”

AGC has supported engineering and construction programs at UA for twenty years, giving more than half a million dollars to programs at UAA, UAF, and UAS. The new endowment ensures support that will extend in perpetuity.

Efforts to establish the endowment go back more than fifteen years and were a massive team effort, says UA Foundation Board Chair Meg Nordale, who is also president of GHEMM Company, a Fairbanks-based general contractor in commercial construction. Nordale is an AGC past president, life board member, and recipient of the association’s prestigious Hard Hat award. She helped shape the initiative.

“There were a lot of meetings with a lot of people around the table, and we all worked together,” Nordale says. “And I think our hope is that what we have done, our endowment, will continue to grow and see more support.”

“As a business owner, I noticed that there was a lack of skilled labor in construction project management,” Nordale says. “I was able to get some ideas and a sense from [UA’s] leadership on how maybe through financial support of those programs—dollars raised through the foundation—we could affect some change at the university level. So rather than just go to the program and say, ‘Gosh, we’d love to give you money,’ we circled back around and went through the University of Alaska Foundation, which then will provide sustained support paid for by industry.”

Randy Johnson, the area manager for Spenard Builders Supply and an AGC board member, says SBS donated to the initiative to help support home-grown talent.

“The construction industry is facing a near-crisis level worker shortage,” he says. “Spenard Builders Supply supports the University of Alaska, believing that students who attend are more likely to stay in the state for work. AGC of Alaska shares this goal of education, benefiting member companies by recruiting local talent into their businesses.”

“Construction management—it’s a combination of understanding the techniques of construction, having drawings, understanding how to put estimates together, but then also having some English classes, accounting classes, you know, general studies, so that you come out of this as a well-rounded project manager,” Nordale says. “We were seeing that there was a lack of that. And while some of my company’s project managers are engineers by education, several of them are not, so this degree offers them a place in the industry that we were really feeling a void.”

AGC of Alaska Life Board member and past president Tony Johansen, partner in Fairbanks-based construction company Great Northwest, Inc., says he can easily see the value of investing in the future of UA. Four of the engineers currently employed at Great Northwest came from the UA system, he says, along with two junior engineers.

The endowment program offers an opportunity for skilled labor on the craft side as well, allowing students to get credit for what they are learning in the field. The endowment will also hopefully address some of Alaska’s “brain drain” problem through retention of current construction employees.

“The skills that those folks learned in the field—when they’re 55 and their back hurts, they can transition to more of an office or job site trailer office position where those skills, combined with a construction management degree, are incredibly valuable,” Nordale says. “It offers them the opportunity to continue their career in construction. We saw it as a way to not only attract new employees but to retain them.”

“We’ll always be able to bring forward what industry sees as the current needs, and that’s going to evolve,” he says. “That’s where it’s important that the seats that we get on the board, the committee that’s going to make those decisions, is to stay in touch not only with the programs on the university side but to provide the perspective of the industry and to make sure the training is meeting the needs of the industry.”

University construction programs are already being revamped, Nordale says. At UAF, classes were not being offered online. But post-pandemic, the program is now available online, making it possible for construction professionals to work while taking courses in their off time.

The endowment will be used for a variety of efforts to boost the university’s construction programs, including marketing, teaching positions, and travel assistance for outreach in harder-to-reach Southeast communities. Efforts to drive up involvement in construction programs are already paying off: according to information from UA, between fall 2022 and fall 2023, enrollment for construction management and similar programs is up across the UA system and additional faculty have been hired to increase course capacity. To see videos of students in action, please visit the Empower Alaska site.

“We recognized that the pipeline into the programs needed to be filled and we were able to steer the university into spending the funds in that way,” Trivette says. “It’s going to be an ongoing process to make sure that what the programs are requesting are aligned with what industry needs and what we need to make sure the program will be well attended.”

Nordale says she hopes this endowment can become a model for other industries around the state who rely on two and four-year degree programs, along with shorter certificate programs.

“I’m super hopeful that other folks will look at it and say, ‘Oh, wow, we could do something like that. We can raise that kind of money. We can make that happen.’ And it will shine a light on the value of the university and shine a light on how collaboration is critical to achieving great things,” Nordale says.

The contributions from industry partners that made this endowment possible were part of a comprehensive fundraising campaign “For Alaska” that focused on four key areas of support for the University of Alaska including access to education, critical research, strengthening Alaska’s economy, and training and preparing the workforce. More information can be found at universityforalaska.com.

Pretty Rocks Progress

n August 2021, the Pretty Rocks landslide shut off access to a portion of Denali Park Road near Polychrome Pass. The project to rebuild the road and make it safe for visitors traveling through Denali National Park in the long term is now underway and is both on time and on budget.

Work on the project has required a significant effort on the part of the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, National Park Service, or NPS, and Granite Construction, which is serving as construction manager/general contractor on the project.

The goal of the Polychrome Area Improvements plan, which was created by the FHWA and NPS, is to restore reliable road access west of Pretty Rocks so park visitors can reach popular destinations and facilities, including Polychrome Overlook, Toklat, Eielson Visitor Center, Wonder Lake, and Kantishna.

The plan addresses several geologic hazards in the Polychrome area that threaten public safety and infrastructure and includes the construction of a bridge to span the Pretty Rocks landslide.

To mitigate the potential for permafrost thaw, twenty-three thermosyphons will be installed in the ground around the eastern abutment of the bridge. A retaining wall will also be installed on the uphill side of the road to the east of the bridge, as will a soil nail wall below the road near the east abutment, and rock dowels below the road near the west abutment for slope stabilization.

Workers prepare the east bridge abutment. The crew plans to install the 475-foot bridge next year.

“We will assemble about one-quarter of the bridge before winter, and it will sit on the job site until next season when we will finish assembling it and push it across the opening to land on the other side,” he explains. “That will be completed by the end of next season, and we’ll tie everything together and finish the project in 2026.”

“It’s been a long road from where we started to knowing how to develop a plan for launching a bridge,” says Moren. “Basically, you’re almost building two bridges—one a launching truss and then the actual permanent truss.”

The permanent truss bridge will be built in a semi-balanced, cantilever state over the east abutment and launch frame, and a launching nose truss will be built inside the permanent truss. The launching nose truss will be launched westward from within the permanent truss to set down on a receiving tower on the west abutment, and then it will be disassembled as the permanent truss structure is launched and then jacked down to its final position.

“There are a lot of technical weights and requirements and geotechnical requirements on the pilings, and all kinds of technical information that goes into finding out exactly what you can and can’t do, as well as the use of specialty rollers and specialty motors,” says Moren. “We hired subcontractor KWH Constructors to handle it since they build steel structures similar to this and design launch schemes.

“Our way to make the job happen is to find the right subcontractor with the right expertise, and KWH ran with it,” he adds. “We’re just here to support them.”

It is expected to take about four months, or one season, to construct and launch the bridge over the landslide and then to disassemble the temporary works. Once in place, Granite Construction will tie in the abutments, then add deck panels and friction surface coating on the bridge deck. Final road grading is tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2026.

The bridge will be placed approximately 40 feet above the landslide area, so even though that area will continue to slide, it will not affect the bridge or those using it.

“We removed some of the rock that was unsafe, pulling loose rock off so that it could be brought down in a safe manner,” says Thurman, adding that the actual landslide area is still moving every day.

“We’d get to the site early in the morning and drive across the landslide to the other side to check for settlement; if it occurred, we put more material in where it was needed and cleaned up the road to make it safe to work on,” he says.

Thurman adds that the team spent a lot of time and effort choosing two solid abutments to hold the bridge that spans the landslide. “The landslide is in the neighborhood of 150 to 175 feet wide, and the bridge length is 475 feet,” says Thurman. “There is still plenty of room on each side of the bridge if the slide gets wider.”

“We’ve got a night shift as well as a day shift, and that takes a lot of people and a lot of coordination to make it work,” says Thurman, noting that between twenty-five and sixty people are on-site at any one time, depending on the current scope of work.

The bridge structure alone, including the steel for the bridge and launch nose, required moving close to fifty loads of material into the park, he says.

“The bridge material is shipped up from Oregon, loaded on a train to Fairbanks, hauled by truck to Denali National Park, off-loaded and placed on other trucks, and then hauled into the park,” Thurman says. “The logistics are pretty challenging.”

And that’s not even considering the onsite logistics entailed.

“You never think about a project as being this complicated,” adds Moren. “There’s no room out there—it’s like a postage stamp. You’re working on a one-lane road going over a landslide and you have to get the parts and pieces and Conexs and trailers and pickups out there to work. There’s nowhere to stage anything.”

Because the project is in a national park, Granite partnered with National Park Service staff and the FHWA to determine where the staging areas would be and what they would look like.

“This had nothing to do with the construction of the bridge—it was just about how we would get things out there,” says Moren, adding that the staging areas will revert back to their natural state after use.

“How we got from Day 1 to where we are now has been a pretty amazing feat,” adds Thurman. “It has taken a lot of people working together in different avenues to make it happen. And a lot has gotten accomplished in a relatively short period of time.”

he thing about legends is, they don’t go looking for anyone to tell them what a great job they’re doing. They focus on the issues at hand and work toward success.

So it was that Jim Fergusson learned the Alaska Legislature had passed a legislative citation honoring him for his fifty-plus years of supporting and advocating for the Alaska construction industry.

“It was a complete, total surprise,” Fergusson says.

It wasn’t the first time Fergusson was surprised by an honor—he’s also an Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska Hard Hat recipient. It’s the association’s most prestigious honor, and one traditionally kept on the down low until the dinner dance at the AGC of Alaska Annual Convention in November, when the emcee reads the honoree’s various accomplishments. Fergusson has been involved with AGC since he moved to Alaska with his wife, Marsha, in 1984 to continue his career with Kiewit Construction, in part because the Kiewit was a union contractor and one of AGC’s roles is to collectively bargain with unions so that individual contractors don’t have to each negotiate on their own.

“We had a reputation worse than a used car salesman,” Fergusson says.

It’s difficult to attract a workforce to an industry that isn’t well-respected, so Fergusson and other AGC of Alaska members began an effort to turn the image around.

Fergusson, along with former AGC of Alaska Executive Director Dick Cattanach and others involved with AGC at the time, helped create the Construction Industry Progress Fund, or CIPF. It’s structured similarly to other industry support programs, such as the Beef Checkoff, through which cattlemen pay a $1-per-head assessment on marketed animals and the money is used to support marketing and research aimed at increasing demand for beef. Similarly, the CIPF collects a portion of all Davis-Bacon Act wages (for federally funded projects) performed by AGC member companies in the state.

“It allowed us to improve on the image of the construction industry in Alaska,” Fergusson says. “It’s still working today.”

The fund was initially created to attract young people to the construction industry, and in part to counter a prevalent mindset that to succeed after high school, one must attend college. Improving the image of the industry was part of that. While the goals are similar, Fergusson says the money goes to support a range of efforts today, from holding summer workshops for teachers to contributions toward the UA Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge contest teams to helping fund the National Association of Women In Construction.

“I like to think of it as, we put the cherry on top of the sundae. It changes year to year, which is good. If it helps, we’ll do it,” Fergusson says.

Fergusson says he’s proud of his involvement in the Municipality of Anchorage Title 21 rewrite effort to develop a building code that is clear and works for Anchorage. It took ten years and thousands of man-hours, he says. Following that effort, he was chair of the Anchorage Planning Commission, which he says was a valuable learning experience.

Fergusson says he took it upon himself to write a procedure to formalize how elections took place.

“It was not an easy task,” he notes. “Everyone thought their way of doing it was the only one.”

Eventually, the process got worked out and the elections are now handled with little fuss. Last year, Fergusson stepped away from his duties as an election official.

“I’m 76 years old; it’s time for younger people to take over,” he says. “We’ve got good leadership in place. It looked like a good time to walk out the door.”

Fergusson says he has retired from his consulting business, which he began in 1996, and is enjoying his retirement, which keeps him busier than ever.

t’s no secret that Alaska’s remote locations present unique challenges for the construction industry, but Alaska Remote Imaging says its advanced 3D imaging technology could prove to be a game-changer.

3D imaging technology—including light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, photogrammetry, and drone-based imaging—allows users to create highly accurate and detailed models of construction sites. This technology captures the exact dimensions and features of a site, enabling firms to plan and execute projects with unprecedented accuracy.

“The technology is getting more accessible and more affordable to deploy,” says Matt Gutacker, managing principal of Alaska Remote Imaging. “But the world doesn’t have a lack of technology right now. They have a lack of capacity to harness it. So that’s why we exist.”

In the past four years, ARI has focused on making difficult jobs easier with 3D imaging, modeling, and mapping. In the past year alone, ARI has completed more than 300 projects in more than 170 remote Alaska communities.

“We look at the digital twin as a superior way of using field notes,” says Gutacker. “But it’s not just field notes for us. It’s communication.”

Relying only on hand sketches, photos, and phone calls can lead to miscommunications and mishaps. 3D imaging, however, helps eliminate mistakes in an industry where time is money and budgets are tight. If a project manager needs to measure the progress on a North Slope job site, they can choose to deploy 3D technology and save time and money by managing the project from an alternate location.

“The technology just takes a complex situation and makes it simple,” says Gutacker. “You can be on the other side of the world and still get those visual checks.”

This initial utilization and recognition of the role that 3D imaging technology could have across many different industries sparked a new trajectory for Gutacker: a vision to help bring these cutting-edge tools to other project managers and organizations.

“Access to 3D imaging technology via digital twins over smartphone and desktop is changing how construction projects can be managed,” says Gutacker. “When a busy professional has quick access to meaningful, interactive information, it has a profound impact. Every meeting, phone call, RFP, material order, and design decision is better informed. This allows better control of the project and translates into cost savings and less stress.”

Chandler Alford, a construction manager at Meridian Management, Inc., says the integration of readily accessible 3D imaging and detailed close-ups in construction has been revolutionary. A major benefit is the ability to visualize projects in a detailed and accurate manner without requiring anyone to be physically on site.

“With most of our projects located in rural Alaska, this technology enables us to identify and locate equipment and make informed decisions in the event we don’t have the correct trip pictures,” says Alford. “3D imaging and drone shots enhance our ability to see the overall picture of how our site sits relative to its environment and communicate effectively with team members on construction challenges and solving those problems with synchronized efforts.”

As technology continues to advance, Alford imagines a future of even greater precision and efficiency in workflows.

“Using existing technologies like the Meta or Ocular face VR [virtual reality] technologies would be an excellent resource in providing a better appreciation on the size of our projects, the perspective our operators have when they mobilize, and the issues that construction has, which would normally be difficult to communicate over emails,” says Alford.

“We’ve been utilizing 3D imaging to create detailed models of these sites, enabling us to refine and improve each location with every iteration,” says Alford. “This project highlights the immense value of integrating 3D imaging as an essential tool in our repertoire.”

While 3D imaging is an invaluable resource, nothing can truly replace having personnel on the ground, Alford adds. However, the logistics of operating in remote areas can make obtaining necessary information challenging.

“I believe the future of construction lies in the seamless integration of technology and human expertise,” says Alford. “Meridian is committed to leading this transformation in Alaska’s project and construction management.”

ARI prioritizes understanding clients’ goals for each project, identifying roadblocks and pain points and then leveraging new technology and custom deliverables to reduce or eliminate these challenges. The company’s three core values—excellence, attunement, and innovation—are applied to every situation, combined with the ability to mobilize and operate sensitive technology in Alaska’s extreme range of environments.

“This approach has proven to be highly effective,” says Gutacker. “We were recently informed by a senior manager on a telecom project where we utilized 3D imaging technology that ARI’s methodology has reduced their project duration by six months.”

Above, a drone-captured point cloud of a telecommunications tower provides a detailed virtual model for accurate analysis and planning.

“This combination would enable us to create dynamic, data-rich models that can be used throughout the entire lifecycle of a project, from design to construction to maintenance,” says Alford. “We could explore the use of 3D imaging for predictive analytics, which will allow us to anticipate and address potential issues before they arise, especially since many of our projects experience similar challenges either being in the Arctic or because some projects are nearly identical.”

At STG Incorporated, a subsidiary of Calista Corporation that has worked in the telecom industry for 20 years building and maintaining towers in Western Alaska, 3D imaging is saving thousands of dollars in travel costs.

“I would venture to say that 3D imagery has saved over $100,000 in potential site visits to remote mountain tops,” says Jay Ubben, a senior project manager at STG, “and likely even more with providing solid plans for successful projects without delays.”

Ubben saw what ARI was doing with its 3D imagery for residential construction and immediately knew how valuable it would be if STG had similar technology for its remote sites.

“We sent ARI out to perform a scan on one of these remote mountain tops and over the next couple of months saw more positive feedback than we expected,” says Ubben. “We were able to jump on a meeting with a dozen engineers, walk through the site and take measurements to properly plan what materials we need, and discuss any discrepancies we had in our 2D plans.”

Since that first scan, STG always has a 3D scan completed before leaving a site, benefiting both the client and the company by accurately capturing the final product and mitigating the risk of claims. Ubben says this practice allows clients to inspect the site remotely, saving significant travel costs and ensuring successful project delivery.

Gutacker believes the use of scanning technology is in the early phase of adoption. He sees advancements in photogrammetry, LiDAR, and remote sensing, with a focus on integrating artificial intelligence for automated inspections and risk analysis.

“The next step is getting into more autonomous remote sensing,” he says. “It’s not mainstream yet, but it will be.”

hen Brian Hooks launched Valley General Construction in 2007, he began with a few pieces of equipment and big dreams.

“We started out with just one little excavator, a dozer, and a dump truck, doing some small Mat-Su [Matanuska-Susitna] Borough road upgrades. We built it up from there,” he says.

Palmer-based Valley General has since grown into a thriving enterprise that prepares sites for commercial building projects, primarily on public sector jobs.

“That’s our specialty,” he says. “That’s where we like to do most of our business.”

“We found a nice little home in commercial site development,” Hooks says. “We do all the foundation work. It’s not the concrete, but setting all the grades for the foundation and all that kind of stuff.”

Hooks says apartment complexes are among the typical projects that Valley General takes on. Describing how such jobs progress, he says the company ties in the sewer and public utilities and then prepares the ground for pouring the foundation.

It also gets things ready for pavement, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, and anything else planned for the site.

“We set it all up and get it prepped and ready to go for all the contractors that come after us,” he says. “We’re usually the first in and the last to leave.”

Valley General trains its employees in all aspects of the services it provides.

“Everybody knows exactly what to do in any situation,” Hooks says. “If somebody needs to grab the GPS and mark out a line, they can. If anybody needs to jump on that dozer and cut that grade, they can. If anybody needs to get down in that ditch and install that waterline, they can.”

Having such versatile employees keeps costs down while speeding up work. With Alaska’s short construction season, he says, contractors “really depend on you to get your stuff done.”

Hooks had a background in building when he started Valley General. His father operated a construction business when he was young, and he and his brother worked for another Mat-Su contractor before he opened his own business.

Early on, Valley General was a small operation. After a few years delivering road upgrades, the business expanded into site work, something Hooks says is a little more intensive.

“You really have to know what you’re doing. You can get backwards in a hurry,” he says.

It also requires sufficient funds for equipment and technology, he adds.

“It’s a real capital-intensive business. The machines you have to buy are very expensive,” Hooks says.

Additionally, site work requires using GPS units. With these, he says, his team “can do all of our own modeling. We can change on the fly pretty quickly.”

The technology, he adds, is “so integrated now that you can’t compete without doing it.”

“I think we run a total of ten to twelve employees most of the time,” Hooks says.

Those employees are drawn from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302, he says, adding that he is a big supporter of union labor.

“We signed on in the union pretty early. I like the idea of union work. I like the idea of my guys making a living wage. And I like the idea of having healthcare and retirement and things like that,” Hooks says.

He adds that, by employing through the union, “even if our business doesn’t make as much money, we can still provide those things to our employees. Because we have a small group, I like to make sure that small group is taken care of. They’re like family.”

Valley General’s competitive edge begins with a well-trained crew.

“I try to keep everybody that works for us at a really high level,” he says, adding “[Technology] is always advancing and you’ve got to keep your guys up to speed,” he said. “I think that gives us another little bit of efficiency.”

The company has left numerous satisfied customers in its wake. “I really enjoy working with them,” says Sam Brown, president of Burlywood, Inc., a Palmer-based company that focuses on multi-family, light commercial and residential construction. “They’re professional and they know what they’re doing and everything seems to go pretty well.”

Hooks says this is due to Valley General’s team of dedicated employees, whom he continuously praises, saying that when they’re on the job, they make it all happen.

“It’s not just me, man,” he concludes.

uauhtemoc “Rod” Rodriguez’s leap from military service to the waste management industry began with a simple frustration—a lack of reliable dumpsters for his projects.

Originally from San Diego, California, Rodriguez came to Alaska by way of the US Air Force. He was a contract specialist in the military for about six years before transitioning into a job as a general contractor. He says an opportunity arose where he could become a project manager.

“I moved on from that company to the next company and the next company, and finally I realized that maybe I should just open up my own business,” he says. “And so that’s what I did.”

It was through Rodriguez’s first business—Coldfoot Environmental, a statewide demolition, remediation, and hazardous materials removal service for government, commercial, and residential properties alike—where he came up with the idea for Red Box Refuse.

Red Box Refuse fills a gap that Rodriguez experienced during his time as a general contractor. He says customers wanted everything done in the summertime, as most Alaskans do. But he struggled to find a company that could provide dumpsters or roll-off containers to all the job sites in a timely manner that were clean, serviceable, safe, and could be removed when the job was done.

“So where does the asbestos go?” he says. “Where does the trash go? We just struggled every single year. So one day we decided to convert a roll-off truck, and we had a local manufacturer build dumpsters for us, and we just turned those dumpsters constantly.”

“That’s when we formed Red Box Refuse in 2010. We’re ten years old now, and it’s still going,” he says. The company doesn’t do any major advertising and has been reliant on repeat customers and referrals from the start. “There’s a need, and those contractors are calling every single day, reminding me of my days when we were searching for somebody to service our site, but we had no success.”

Rodriguez says he takes pride in the dumpsters he uses. Using a recognizable vibrant red paint and emphasizing maintenance so the boxes aren’t rusty or leaking or dirty, Rodriguez’s dumpsters are a step up from those of other local waste removal services.

“People think a dumpster is just a box,” he says. “We just throw out a bunch of garbage, and it’s okay to have it rusted and beat up and all that. I tend to think differently. I think that a dumpster is a piece of equipment. If we maintain it, and keep it nice, and keep it painted and decaled properly so people can identify our company, I think it’s a better product.”

“Customers come with a need, whether it’s ‘Hey, we’ve got a big dusty area,’ or, ‘Hey, we can’t control all this debris flying everywhere,’” he says. “We’ve been able to kind of fix that problem for them, and that’s exciting.”

“Their exceptional reliability, efficiency, and professionalism have been instrumental in maintaining the smooth operation of our projects,” says Sean Hickel, president of Roger Hickel Contracting, Inc. “Red Box Refuse consistently delivers on their promises, providing timely and effective waste removal solutions that help us stay on schedule and meet project deadlines.”

Another challenge the waste removal company has faced over the last decade is finding personnel. Rodriguez says Alaska simply needs more truck drivers.

“We can’t just put any person into the truck,” he says. “Everyone has to have a commercial driver’s license. And I see that pool not growing. I see it across the board, not just in the waste haul side but in the entire transportation as well as the construction industry.”

Challenges exist; so do opportunities, and Rodriguez is positioning his company to make the most of them.

Starting with just 4 dumpsters and juggling more than 250 now, the company has expanded its use of technology. Rodriguez says Red Box has been able to service its customers in a better, more efficient way with a new dispatch system. Drivers have also ditched using pen and paper to track their work, instead using a tablet synced to the company’s system.

Looking ahead, Rodriguez says new ideas, such as a front-load service for commercial customers, are also in the works. Rodriguez says they try to buy the “latest and greatest” equipment and incentivize employees to take care of the company’s dumpsters and vehicles.

“The technology side of it has changed quite a bit as well, and it’s all to serve our customer better, to streamline the whole process,” he says. “Just because it’s trash, it doesn’t have to be trashy, right?”

n Alaska, bulk fuel farms are both the backbone of a community—providing fuel for generation, which translates to heat and electricity—and one of its greatest potential hazards, due to the possibility of fuel spills from aging piping, damaged tanks, or spills during fuel deliveries.

According to the Alaska Energy Authority, most rural bulk fuel tank farms in Alaska were built in the ‘50s and ‘60s using second-hand equipment and without attention to standards or codes.

In late ‘80s, the US Coast Guard raised concerns over fuel deliveries to tank farms with “deficient piping to and within the tank farm” and threatened to block fuel deliveries unless the issues were addressed.

With funding from federal block grants, between 1993 and 1997 the Alaska Energy Authority replaced piping systems in about sixty communities and completed major tank farm projects in twenty villages.

The biggest challenges the teams in Western Alaska and the Arctic witnessed were directly related to climate change: coastal erosion, changes to the home range of key subsistence food sources, increased commercial vessel traffic, and thawing permafrost, notes Commander Jereme Altendorf, an Arctic emergency management specialist at Sector Anchorage.

Residents were concerned about possible fuel spills and the resulting contamination—not to mention the dangers of having limited or no electricity for extended periods.

“We learned that they only receive one fuel delivery each year. We were there to inspect their fuel tanks to ensure they could survive the coming winter without a fuel or heating oil spill and to talk about pollution response efforts in the Bering Strait should a spill ever occur. The residents we met described this increasingly-transited region as their ‘grocery store’ and explained the tragic impacts a major pollution incident would have on their village and their people,” says Captain Leanne Lusk, commander of Sector Anchorage, after visiting Little Diomede in 2021.

Operating out of Anchorage, Latitude 63 is a construction and business consulting company named for the line of latitude that runs through the peak of Denali. The name represents the height of excellence the company seeks for its clients’ projects. The company is jointly owned by Mike Martin and Chip Anderson.

Anderson says the company worked with the Alaska Energy Authority to replace, repair, and upgrade pipework for the fuel tank farms in both Beaver and Chalkyitsik.

The project began in a former gravel pit, Anderson says. Using a contractor owner/contractor operator method, Crowley Government Services is the owner and operator of the site, which includes three new fuel tanks. Although it serves Eielson, it’s not on the base itself, he notes. The tank farm can receive fuel from the nearby refinery, store the fuel, or pump it to the base as needed.

In October 2023, the Darwin Port stood up a 25-ton loading arm, a huge milestone. Two cranes, one 200-ton and one 95-ton, set the structure, which was shipped from Germany, into place.The loading arm will allow fuel to be offloaded from ships to make its way down the 3-kilometer pipeline to the tanks for storage in support of the US Military Global Defense System.

Latitude 63’s cooperation with Crowley now spans the globe. The company’s Australian subsidiary, Latitude 63 Australia, is wrapping up a similar contractor owner/contractor operator fuel tank farm project called Project Caymus in Darwin, Australia.

In August, Latitude 63 Australia reached the finish line for Project Caymus, a Jet A-1 and JP-5 bulk fuel storage facility. The Latitude 63 Australia crew was busy standing up the operations building and putting the final touches on the massive 11-tank, 80 million-gallon fuel facility that will play a crucial role in support of the Indo-Pacific Global Defense System. The project includes pipeline tie-ins, rail unloading capabilities, and onsite product add-in capabilities, so operators can inject drag-reducing additives to increase the pipeline capacity or inject corrosion inhibitors when needed, Anderson says.

The company’s involvement highlights its capabilities in handling large-scale, complex projects that are integral to military operations and global defense logistics. Latitude 63 Australia worked closely with local contractors, suppliers, and regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with environmental and safety standards.

This project supports the F-35 Defense System, which is important in maintaining a strong defense presence in the Indo-Pacific, a region of growing geopolitical significance.