Skip to main content

Alaskan bridge project remodelled

In Alaska a decision has been made regarding the Knik Arm Crossing Project, which will now be carried out under the PPP model.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
In Alaska a decision has been made regarding the Knik Arm Crossing Project, which will now be carried out under the PPP model. The previous project procurement plan has been cancelled. The Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (3471 KABATA) explained it was decided to restart the procurement process to make it easier to deliver the project and finance the toll bridge.

The PPP model will also provide sufficient for a full maintenance programme to maximise its working life and will also provide a better value for money approach to the state, according to KABATA. The Knik Arm Crossing combines a toll bridge and roadway crossing Cook Inlet between Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, one of the fastest growing counties in the US.

The Alaska Legislature established the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority in 2003 under Alaska Statute 19.75 to develop, stimulate, and advance the economic welfare of the state and further the development of public transportation systems in the vicinity of Upper Cook Inlet with construction of a bridge to span Knik Arm and connect the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The project has not been without controversy in the past as it was cited as a ploy to win political support by one group. Under the terms of the deal, the partner selected through the procurement process will receive periodic payments based on the availability of the project at specified performance levels.  Underachievement of the performance criteria would result in reductions to the periodic amount received by the private partner.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • East End Crossing Project—Availability payment P3 in action
    July 14, 2017
    Indiana exercised its authority to use a P3 contract when it partnered with Kentucky for new bridges across the Ohio River. Barney Allison and John Smolen* explain the groundbreaking availability payment deal. Earlier this year, traffic began rolling over the new tolled Lewis and Clark Bridge spanning the Ohio River from northern Kentucky to southern Indiana. The cable-stayed bridge is part of the award-winning Ohio Bridges Project to untangle traffic within the greater metropolitan area of Louisville, Kent
  • Australia responds to infrastructure funding challenge
    July 13, 2012
    The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has drastically changed the way governments and the private sector is prepared to procure vital infrastructure projects, says Philip Davies Governments have responded to the GFC by focusing on long term investment in transport infrastructure and shorter term stimulus packages to kick-start economies. As these projects proceed, the focus will shift to maintaining and achieving maximum benefits from assets and future infrastructure funding. The Public Private Partnership (PP
  • Topcon machine control units take the heat off an Alaskan contractor
    December 4, 2015
    Juniper, spruce, cranberry, cottonwood and rose. Most people think of pine trees and berries amid beautiful country fields. But for one contractor based just below the Arctic Circle in the US state of Alaska, the names represent a successful job completed using machine control. Valley General Construction recently finished a US$350,000 contract for the upgrading of country roads in the local borough of Matanuska-Susitna. The colourful names belong to roads in a heavily wooded residential subdivision located
  • How Florida paved the way for availability payments in the US
    November 21, 2014
    New financing models have been used to deliver key transport links in the US - * Patrick D Harder and Brandon J Davis Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) public-private partnership (PPP) programme has made impressive progress, setting precedents for US transportation planning and funding. On March 26th 2014, FDOT opened 16km of new reversible express lanes as part of its US$1.8 billion I-595 Corridor Roadway Improvements Project. Just a few months later, on August 3rd 2014, FDOT opened twin tunnel