Anchorage, Alaska: Six Port Projects Split Nearly $105 Million in Federal Funds, and the Port of Alaska Gets $6.4 Million

Six port and maritime projects across Alaska will split nearly $105 million in federal money, in U.S. Department of Transportation awards announced by the state's congressional delegation on Wednesday, October 28. The money flows through the Port Infrastructure Development Program and reaches from Southeast Alaska to the Aleutians and the Arctic.

Anchorage, the state's largest city, receives $6,394,000 of the total. The award funds the Port of Alaska Modernization Program's stevedore support facilities and landside operations readiness project, and it supports operational improvements at the port the delegation calls Alaska's principal maritime cargo hub. Most of the food, fuel and goods that reach Anchorage and much of the state pass over those docks.

Where the money goes

The largest single award goes to Whittier, on Prince William Sound. The DeLong Dock Replacement Project receives $50,593,488 to replace aging maritime infrastructure that serves Southcentral Alaska's transportation network and regional supply chains. Whittier's dock is a working link for the road and rail corridor into Anchorage.

Kodiak receives the second largest share. The Saint Herman Harbor Recapitalization Project, Phase 2A, gets $26,070,000 for improvements to a harbor that serves Kodiak's commercial fishing fleet and its maritime economy. Nome, on the Bering Sea, receives $11,250,000 for local service facilities tied to the expansion of its Arctic deep-draft port, work the delegation says strengthens maritime access, commerce, emergency response and national security.

Two smaller Southeast and Aleutian projects complete the list. The Kake Marine Cargo Dock Development Project receives $6,287,220 to advance cargo infrastructure for that Southeast Alaska community. In Unalaska, the Ounalashka Arctic and North Pacific Maritime Hub receives $4,402,403 to advance infrastructure for commercial fisheries, shipping and maritime operations in the North Pacific and Arctic. The six awards add up to $104,997,111.

What the delegation said

Sen. Dan Sullivan said the state starts from a hard position. "Alaska is a resource-rich but infrastructure-poor state, and expanding our critical infrastructure has been one of my highest priorities since coming to the Senate," Sullivan said. "With more coastline than the rest of the country combined, our ports and harbors are lifelines for our communities, our economy, and our national security."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski credited the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. "These projects will improve safety and efficiency while helping ensure Alaska can continue to serve as a gateway for commerce, transportation, and our national security," she said. Rep. Nick Begich said the delegation has pushed port investment since day one of the current Congress, and pointed to Kodiak's harbor and Nome's deep-draft expansion as support for the commercial fishing sector, maritime security and the state's supply chain networks.

Part of a longer run of port money

The announcement is the latest in a series of federal port awards for Alaska that the delegation listed in the same release, including approximately $324 million in recent Port Infrastructure Development Program awards, $250 million for Nome's Arctic deep-draft port and more than $169 million for the Don Young Port of Alaska modernization in Anchorage. For Anchorage readers, the practical test comes next: how fast the $6,394,000 turns into working stevedore facilities and a smoother landside operation at the port the whole state depends on.