ANB Harbor Float Replacement, Sitka, Alaska
The team on the Alaska Native Brotherhood Harbor upgrade says it surmounted technical challenges and an aggressive schedule to complete the project 14% below budget. Originally built in 1978 to serve the area's commercial fishing community, the 23,000-sq-ft timber float system had reached the end of its useful life. It is one of five in Sitka's harbor system.
The $7.3-million project included demolishing the existing structure and replacing the harbor's mooring system, approach dock, gangways and utilities. It also widened the south harbor entrance and removed shallow bedrock outcropping adjacent to one of the harbor floats.
The team's job included providing periodic public updates such as making public presentations to the Sitka City Assembly and Port & Harbor Commission.
To meet the project's 14-month schedule, the team implemented a two-stage bid process that involved a procurement contract and an installation contract.
Variable bedrock outcropping created a significant challenge for drilling piles. To meet the challenge, the team used geotechnical investigation and subsurface bottom profiling and collaborated to respond to varying conditions, especially on 11 of the 65 pile locations. Pile splicing, where needed, was directed quickly and resulted in no delay-related claims, the designer says.
The designer says the project improved navigation while upgrading the float layout and design vessel mix to better serve the local commercial fishing community, and it was completed in time for the spring herring run.
Work was completed without any OSHA recordable incidents or lost-time accidents.
The judges noted the complexity of building a dock on bedrock and commended the team's safety record as well as its ability to work within a tight budget.
Key Players
Owner/Developer City and Borough of Sitka
General Contractor (Fabrication & Installation Phase) Pacific Pile & Marine
Float Construction Manager (Fabrication Phase) Transpac Marinas Inc.
Lead Design Firm/Structural & Civil Engineer Moffatt & Nichol
MEP Engineer RSA Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering Golder Associates Ltd.
Corrosion Engineering North Corrosion Limited
Surveying O’Neil Surveying & Engineering
