Award: Alaska highway reconstruction
Value: $32 million
Location: Near Nenana, Alaska
Client: Alaska DOT and Public Facilities
Granite Construction has lined up another road infrastructure project, this time in Alaska, and will use its self-supply capabilities to get the job done.
The Watsonville, California-based infrastructure builder will deliver the Parks Highway MP 315–325 Reconstruction project, a $32 million task that will see the contractor rebuild a section of the George Parks Highway near Nenana, Alaska, according to a May 14 announcement.
Granite, which is operating under a construction manager/general contractor delivery contract, will complete approximately 1.2 million cubic yards of excavation and embankment. The contractor will also leverage its growing self-supply capabilities to deliver 22,000 tons of asphalt via a portable crusher and asphalt plant, per the announcement.
The contractor has been working on the broader reconstruction project since 2022, which it said has helped keep material imports down, critical for building in remote areas. By using existing on-site materials as well as excess from the project’s first phase, Granite imported 8,000 tons of gravel, less than one fifth of the original 50,000 tons estimated for the job, per the announcement.
The project is the second phase of the Parks Highway reconstruction, which has been underway for over 10 years, according to the Alaska DOT+PF webpage. The highway’s complete route stretches over 230 miles to connect Anchorage, on the Gulf of Alaska coastline, with Fairbanks in the state’s interior.
Work is a necessity: The section of road between mileposts 319 and 325 on the highway does not meet current engineering standards, per the agency. The highway itself is also plagued by steep hills and sharp curves, which contributed to six major injuries and two deaths for motorists between 2010 and 2021. In addition, road maintenance crews frequently need to replace guardrails because of collisions.
As part of its work, Granite will re-route the highway to straighten curves and decrease grades from mileposts 322 to 325, according to the agency’s project page. Construction is slated to begin late in the second quarter of 2026, with substantial completion marked for the third quarter of 2028, per the contractor.
