CIRI recently signed agreements with Eklutna Inc. and Wilder Construction, a subsidiary of Granite Construction, to begin sand and gravel operations on a parcel of Eklutna land in Birchwood, Alaska.
The parcel is adjacent to the Birchwood Airport and is part of Eklutna’s land conveyance from the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Eklutna owns the surface rights to the land, while CIRI owns the subsurface rights, including the sand and gravel.
The sand and gravel will be extracted from the site over the next three summers and will be railed to Central Paving Products, a company in south Anchorage, for sale in the Anchorage construction market. The rail transportation will begin after the installation of a rail spur under a separate agreement between Eklutna Inc. and the Alaska Railroad Corp. The rail spur will allow rail access to the property for Eklutna’s planned development of industrial lots once the sand and gravel operations are completed.
Eklutna Inc. and CIRI have worked cooperatively to bring the pieces of the project together for the benefit of all participants and to provide a needed resource to the market. This project is the second joint sand and gravel project between CIRI and Eklutna, Inc. The first agreement, which included Alaska Interstate Construction LLC, began in June 2007. This development of the Eklutna gravel pit which provides sand and gravel and other value-added products to the local community and the Anchorage Bowl.
