Anchorage Assembly gives green light to Petroleum Cement Terminal upgrade

The Anchorage Assembly voted 8-3 to award a contract bid of $42 million for Pacific Pile & Marine to upgrade the Petroleum Cement Terminal at the Port of Alaska.

Several Port of Alaska facilities have been used beyond their planned service life and engineers say that the port, through which roughly 90 percent of Alaska's merchandise goods pass, is at "imminent risk of failure within the next five to ten years," according to an assembly resolution.

David Gamez of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Alaska, said that repairs are necessary to survive another shake like what occurred on November 30.

"Enhancements must be made to ensure the facility's earthquake survivibility," he said.

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020.

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But not everyone is happy with the vote. The assembly's approval comes despite opposition from users of the port who would be subject to increased tariffs. They also worry that the project is counting on funds it doesn't have.

"Having a project that has started and we do not have the funds to complete ultimately puts us in this position where tariffs would be the only answer in order to complete," said Dave Karp, Managing Director of Saltchuk.