The Alaska Contractor: Fall 2006

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Expansionism may be overheating Alaska’s economy BY MICHELE WHITE That is what some legislators are saying about the amount of funds for capital improvement projects passed by the 24th Alaska Legislature in the Governor’s fi scal year 2007 budget. According to Rep. Kevin Meyer who represents Anchorage, there is such a surplus of projects that contractors are too busy to even bid on them. And this year’s capital budget list will keep them busy for even longer. “In talking with the department of transportation,” Meyer said, “they are getting more and more projects that are bid on by either one, or in some cases zero, con- 32 The Alaska CONTRACTOR Fall 2006
tractors. Along with higher prices for material, this tends to increase project costs substantially. According to DOT, this is a nationwide trend.” Senator Charlie Huggins, who represents District H in the Matanuska- Susitna Borough, says the surplus of construction is part of the building process of a young state. “I’ve heard the term ‘overheating the economy’ more than once because, my assumption, based on those kind of comments, is that the number of funds going in and the project load may exceed the labor force. But that’s a very good position to be in.” One of the most contentious measures was the Knik Arm Crossing, still under study for environmental impact. The Legislature matched the federal $92 million appropriation by 10 percent for the Knik Arm Bridge. They also gave the Knik Arm Crossing revenue bonding authority to generate its own funds, using all its tools as a toll authority. Senator Huggins chairs the Transportation Committee, where that mea- sure began. “We kind of marshaled it through and so that was done. The state does not bear liability of that.” Some of the biggest capital projects went to deferred maintenance of roads, improving transportation, university construction and the Alaska Railroad. The Legislature allocated more than $113 million for the University of Alaska, $57 million of which funded phase II of its new science center. The state will continue to pay 70 percent of construction of urban schools. In the governor’s original budget, he asked the Legislature to approve $50 million for the extension of the Alaska Railroad. In the end, the Legislature reduced that number to $5 million but it gave $165 million in bonding authority to the Alaska Railroad to improve the corridor between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Senator Huggins said this will allow the railroad to leverage its revenue from the federal government through bonding so that it can move forward without jeopardizing its future assets. For his part, Governor Murkowski Some of the biggest capital projects went to deferred maintenance of roads, improving transportation, university construction and the Alaska Railroad. said he feels certain capital projects were signifi cant. “Certainly the state’s investment in transportation infrastructure is extremely important for the years ahead – from “bottleneck buster” projects in Anchorage and Mat-Su Valley to ex- Fall 2006 The Alaska CONTRACTOR 33
Page 5 and 6: Associated General Contractors of A
Page 7 and 8: ANCH ABBOTT LOOP COMM PARK IMPROVEM
Page 9 and 10: CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY $500,000,000
Page 12: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE CIPF
Page 16 and 17: Member NEWScontinued W. W. GRAINGER
Page 18: SAFETY REPORT Who really drives saf
Page 21 and 22: I recommend a multi-faceted approac
Page 23 and 24: Political reality says a project la
Page 25 and 26: Five main types of public private p
Page 27 and 28: “There is a fundamental fl aw in
Page 29 and 30: “I believe that every company has
Page 31 and 32: “The information we have enables
Page 33: deal with hundreds of questions on
Page 37 and 38: 2007 CAPITAL BUDGET Transportation
Page 39 and 40: “The governor had a lot of money
Page 41 and 42: ments from various clients from con
Page 43 and 44: The friend formed a company that ha
Page 45 and 46: For the past two and a half months,
Page 47 and 48: APPRENTICE PROGRAMS Earn while you
Page 49 and 50: Construction MANAGEMENT Established
Page 51 and 52: should get into the trades,” she
Page 53 and 54: Fall 2006 The Alaska CONTRACTOR 51
Page 55 and 56: The Anchorage Construction Academy
Page 57 and 58: Statewide need Given the steadily g
Page 59 and 60: 2) industry education and informati
Page 61 and 62: Whyte said NCCER is developing plan
Page 63 and 64: with have a smaller business feel.
Page 65 and 66: THE GOVERNOR CANDIDATES’ VIEWS ON
Page 67 and 68: Knowles continued from page 63 to c
Page 69 and 70: The construction industry as well a
Page 71 and 72: Muldoon Middle School, Anchorage BU
Page 73 and 74: Fall 2006 The Alaska CONTRACTOR 71
Page 75 and 76: Even so, the impacts on judicial de
Page 77 and 78: ed $81 billion in lost productivity
Page 79 and 80: Fairbanks PRIZE WINNERS AGC Golf Co
Page 81 and 82: First place winners with their “A
Page 83 and 84: Key Bank, N.A. Klondike Advertising
Page 85 and 86:
Fall 2006 The Alaska CONTRACTOR 83
Page 88:
BACK COVER
show all

The Alaska Contractor: Fall 2006

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?