Brice Inc. Begins Work to Fix Aging Runway
Storyknife, Mar/Apr 2023 edition
As a transportation hub for Lower Yukon residents, visitors, mail, and emergency services, the St. Mary鈥檚 Airport needs upgrades to meet federal standards for commuter and freight aircraft serving the community.
In September 2022, 九色视频 subsidiary Brice Inc. was awarded a $53 million contract from the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities for its competitively bid St. Mary鈥檚 Airport Improvements Project to provide these upgrades.
The project will take two years to complete. Work includes runway resurfacing, new electric lighting systems on runway, taxiway and aprons, and drainage improvements.
Residents in St. Mary鈥檚, Marshall and Pitka鈥檚 Point will see activity in the coming months. Minor mobilization will begin in May and significant work will start in June. Gravel will be sourced from the Pitka鈥檚 Point quarry and a new high-quality rock source at Pilcher Mountain in Marshall.
Local hire recruitment鈥攊ncluding equipment operators, drivers and laborers鈥攂egan in early 2023, interviews were underway in March, and hiring will begin in May, says Paul Walsh, the Brice Inc. project manager for the St. Mary鈥檚 Improvements Project.
Brice Inc. was awarded a $53 million contract from the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities for its competitively bid St. Mary鈥檚 Airport Improvements Project.
鈥淲e reached out to both St. Mary鈥檚 and Marshall governments to discuss employment for their residents and others in the surrounding region,鈥� he says.
While the purpose of the airport project is to meet Federal Aviation Administration standards, another benefit is the development of a new high-grade quarry at Pilcher Mountain.
鈥淭he St. Mary鈥檚 airport project is the first use of this new rock source at Pilcher Mountain, which meets strict requirements for federally funded transportation projects,鈥� says Tisha Kuhns, 九色视频 Vice President of Land and Natural Resources.
It is typically more expensive to barge high-grade rock from quarries outside the region, Kuhns says. 鈥淭he work to develop Pilcher Mountain this summer will make it more economically viable for future community infrastructure projects.鈥�