n some remote areas of Alaska, such as Port Alexander on Baranof Island, construction projects take on a new level of difficulty. Builders have to deal with the usual challenges that hamper every Alaska construction project, like unpredictable weather, but they also have to find ways to move equipment, materials, and manpower in and out of off-road sites.
When Port Alexander’s water tank reached the end of its useful life, it was imperative that UIC Sanatu, LLC find a way to demolish the old tank and replace it with a new tank so that the community could continue to have water for residential, commercial, and emergency needs.
According to UIC Sanatu Project Manager Geoff Sanger, the water-storage tank had been leaking for a while, in part due to the tank’s degradation from its location near saltwater. The community had only been using 30 to 40 percent of the 120,000-gallon tank’s volume, storing 40,000 to 50,000 gallons of water, which was primarily used for drinking water, as well as to supply the town’s fire water protection system in case of emergency.
If the tank’s foundation failed before it was replaced, there was concern that the tank would tumble down the steep slope on which it was located, taking out pipes and causing other damage. This would also require Port Alexander to go with a more expensive back-up plan to pump water out of a nearby muskeg lake.
“This project was very unique in that Port Alexander is in an incredibly remote area at the farthest southern tip of Baranof Island, and the water tank was located about a 30-minute hike up the side of the mountain, standing at roughly 500 to 600 feet in elevation,” says Sanger of the site about 61 air miles southeast of Sitka. “It was not easy to get to.”
UIC Sanatu is a Small Business Administration 8(a) certified general construction subsidiary under UIC Government Construction, one of four holding companies for one of the largest Alaska Native village corporations, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation. The company specializes in logistical and environmental challenges that are unique to the Arctic and remote regions of Alaska.
Project Manager, UIC Sanatu, LLC
“The old, bolted steel water-storage tank was built about forty years ago and was constructed on a wooden foundation and concrete piers,” says Sanger, who noted that the company had ‘boots on the ground” in June. “Our guys had to fly up a small mini-excavator and all associated tools and scaffolding to do the project, and use hot saws or concrete saws to cut the tank apart and demolish the wooden foundation.
“We also used the mini-excavator to organize and get materials rounded up, as everything had to come in and out by helicopter,” he continued. “It was pretty exciting and challenging in its own way. It took brute manpower to get the tank down and get a new one erected.”
UIC Sanatu barged 95 percent of the materials needed for the project out of Seattle, Washington, to Petersburg, and then lightered the materials on a smaller barge to Port Alexander.
“Southeast in the summertime is a very wet area and we had six inches of rain on a couple of days, which prevented us from getting to the site,” says Sanger. “There weren’t a lot of sunny and clear days the rest of the summer, either, so the weather made the project very challenging.”
Temsco Helicopters out of Juneau made four all-day trips to move the materials to the site, from the staging area roughly half-a-mile overland up the mountain. On the busiest day, the helicopter made forty roundtrips.
Project Manager, UIC Sanatu, LLC
Materials followed stringent specifications for weather treating, including a foundation built out of weather-treated Douglas fir from Idaho. UIC also embedded rebar into the bedrock, pouring concrete pillars to make a stronger foundation. The project was self-performed with no subcontractors and employed four people at the height of the season.
UIC Sanatu is familiar with these types of projects. It recently took part in three similar projects, replacing a fuel tank farm in Shungnak, on the Kobuk River; water storage tanks at Gulkana, about fifteen minutes north of Glennallen; and in Chalkyitsik, an hour north of Fairbanks.
“Gulkana was on the road system, so we were not as logistically challenged by that project,” says Sanger. The company demolished a leaning water tank, replaced the soil foundation, and constructed a new bolted steel water tank for the community, which was only able to use 30 percent of the previous tank.
Because Chalkyitsik is a fly-in only community, UIC Sanatu worked with Lynden and Everts Air to transport the materials it needed to build a full steel foundation on pillars to support a new tank.
“It was the same type of project; the tank was old and leaking, and the community was not able to utilize it to its full capacity,” says Sanger, noting that UIC Sanatu will be working on a similar project in St. George, in the Pribilof Islands, this summer.
According to UIC Government Construction Vice President Jason Strickler, who also serves as general manager of UIC Sanatu, the company enjoys getting involved in these types of projects for a number of reasons.
“These projects are very challenging, which makes them fun and exciting,” Strickler says. “It’s also nice to get into smaller communities in need of these types of facilities and be able to provide a service that helps them and their livelihoods. As an Alaska Native corporation, this is very important to us, and we enjoy doing it.”