Alaska Interstate Construction LLC (AIC) completed its $24 million contract with the Municipality of Anchorage to construct a new Anchorage road, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., ahead of schedule. The new road opened Wednesday, Aug. 4, and is expected to carry 20,000 vehicles each day.
“We actually completed our part of the project on Nov. 26,” said Curt Scoggin, AIC project manager. “We were even able to complete extra work they had given us and still finish early.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. connects Elmore Road and Boniface Parkway and runs along the northern edge of Far North Bicentennial Park. AIC won the contract with a competitive bid and is the primary contractor on the project.
Scoggin attributes the successful early project completion to several factors, chief of which is AIC’s expertise in a variety of fields.
“We do our own paving and have our own paving equipment and asphalt plant at the Eklutna gravel pit,” said Scoggin. “We were able to pave on our schedule, not someone else’s. We also constructed our own 96-foot bridge. It makes a big difference to have control over something like that.”
The bridge, which includes four traffic lanes and a pedestrian lane, is a distinctive feature of this project. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.’s location next to the recreational park shaped its development. The bridge crosses over the Tour of Anchorage trail and a wildlife crossing. It features decorative fencing and extensive landscaping.
AIC also had two other projects it was working on for the Municipality of Anchorage at the same time as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
“We wanted to keep the same crew rotating between different projects,” said Scoggin. “We didn’t have to stop and regroup – we were able to keep the momentum going.”
AIC broke ground on the project in November 2008. Because of the unique conditions of the project, AIC had to start construction in the winter.
“The first winter we were able to work the entire winter excavating the peat bogs in the area, hauling the peat back to the Eklutna gravel pit and using it for reclamation at the pit. Then we hauled gravel back from the pit,” said Scoggin. “It made a huge difference time-wise to work through the winter.”
Scoggin also attributed the early and successful project completion to the subcontractors AIC used on the project.
“Finishing Edge Concrete did their work on time and laid a lot of curb when we needed it,” said Scoggin. “AAA Fence did a great job. Sunrise/Sunset Landscaping really went the extra mile with the landscaping near the end, in the rain. They really stepped up to the plate.”
