$400M Contract for Kiewit to Build Phase 1A of Port of Nome Modification
Photo Credit: Skookum Photography | Adobe Stock
The US Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District (USACE) awarded a $399.4 million contract to Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. of Vancouver, Washington, to build Phase 1A of the Port of Nome Modification project. The first phase involves a 1,200-foot causeway extension with about 600 feet of dock face.
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“A robust and efficient transportation hub at Nome is foundational to the long-term viability of surrounding communities in the region,” says Colonel Jeffrey Palazzini, USACE-Alaska District commander. “We are committed to assisting the City of Nome by providing a reliable solution that improves the port’s navigation efficiency.”
Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the harbor expansion aims to provide larger vessels with improved access to Nome by creating a deep-water basin at a depth of minus 40 feet. Currently, ship transportation is limited by existing depths in the outer basin of minus 22 feet.
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The expansion would give Nome the only deep-draft port in the US Arctic region, slightly south of the Arctic Circle. Currently, the nearest deep-water port is at Dutch Harbor, so that is the point of departure for US Coast Guard icebreakers patrolling the Arctic Ocean.
Before dredging a deep-water harbor, early phases will enclose the Port of Nome with a new causeway. An earlier plan, which resulted in a six-month delay, called for three phases.
Photo Credit: US Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District
Phase 1A is the first of four phases of the required construction to build the Port of Nome project. Following this portion of the project, the Phase 2 dredging of the deep and outer basins up to minus 40 feet is next scheduled for construction.
An earlier plan by USACE called for three phases of construction, but bids on that plan were cancelled last October due to costs running higher than expected. A revised plan reduced rock size from 22 tons to 18 tons as a cost-saving measure, and bidding was reopened in March.
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