Anchorage port expansion problems reported

Anchorage port expansion problems reported    Concerns have been raised over construction problems at a project to expand the Port of Anchorage.

Matsuda

   In a letter sent on Dec. 15 to Maritime Administrator David Matsuda, Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said he is “troubled by reports I have received of complications during this year’s construction season.” As MarAd “is the federal agency tasked with providing oversight and coordination for the port,” Begich asked for information about an a MarAd analysis “to determine the cause of the construction difficulties,” specifically asking for information on problems with driving sheet piling and damage to the piling.
   Matsuda, in a reply to Begich dated Dec. 27, said he shared concerns “regarding damage to portions of the steel wall material that comprises the primary bulk head and vessel berths that was installed by a subcontractor working on the project.
   “I assure you that neither the Maritime Administrator nor our contractor has accepted any work that does not meet contract requirements,” Matsuda said.
   MarAd joined the project in 2003 and Matsuda told Begich the federal government has spent $297 million to date.
   Copies of the letters exchanged by Begich and Matsuda were reprinted as part of stories published Sunday by the Anchorage Daily News, which said the cost of the project is estimated at $1 billion and that completion date has been pushed back from 2011 to 2021.
   Matsuda told Begich MarAd is “taking all steps necessary to do our share in ensuring the project moves forward during the 2011 construction season, and given a similar commitment from the port, the project is sure to make progress.” MarAd has “committed additional personnel both at the port and in Washington, D.C. and resources to the project,” he added
   An attachment to the letter said MarAd believes “the sheet pile installation problem can be corrected.”