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Award: Reconstruction of the Alaska Highway
Value: 32 million dollars
Location: Near Nenana, Alaska
Customer: Alaska DOT and public facilities
Granite Construction has lined up another road infrastructure project, this time in Alaska, and will use its self-supply capabilities to get the job done.
The Watsonville, Calif.-based infrastructure builder will deliver the Parks Highway MP 315–325 reconstruction project, a $32 million task that will see the contractor. reconstruct a section of the George Parks Highway near Nenana, Alaska, according to a May 14 announcement.
Granite, which is operating under a construction manager/general contractor delivery contract, will complete approximately 1.2 million cubic yards of excavation and embankment. The contractor will also take advantage of his growing capacity for self-sufficiency to deliver 22,000 tons of asphalt using a portable crusher and asphalt plant, according to the announcement.
The contractor has been working on the wider reconstruction project since 2022, which it said has helped keep material imports, critical to building in remote areas, low. Using existing on-site materials as well as excess from the first phase of the project, Granite imported 8,000 tons of gravel, less than a fifth of the original 50,000 tons estimated for the job, according to the announcement.
The project is the second phase of the Reconstruction of the parks highwaywhich has been in place for more than 10 years, according to the Alaska DOT+PF website. The highway’s full route stretches more than 230 miles to connect Anchorage on Alaska’s Gulf Coast with Fairbanks in the interior of the state.
Work is a necessity: The stretch of road between kilometers 319 and 325 of the freeway does not meet current engineering standards, according to the agency. The road itself is also plagued with steep hills and sharp curves, which contributed to six major injuries and two deaths for motorists between 2010 and 2021. In addition, road maintenance crews often need to replace guardrails due to collisions.
As part of its work, Granite will realign the freeway to straighten curves and decrease grades from points 322 to 325, according to the agency’s project page. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of the second quarter of 2026, with substantial completion slated for the third quarter of 2028, according to the contractor.
