Ahtna Global, LLC (AGL) has been awarded a $1.6 million sole source contract from the United States Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District for an Emergency Pier Storm Damage Repair project at Eareckson Air Station. Eareckson Air Station, formerly Shemya Air Force Base, is a military airport located on the island of Shemya in the Alaska Aleutian Islands. The airport was closed as an active Air Force Station in 1994.

In February of this year a brutal storm hit Shemya Island, causing a storm surge that resulted in waves over 40 feet tall. The storm surge severely eroded the shoreline, tossing 17-ton concrete Dolos (reinforced concrete blocks) 100 feet up the bank. The sheet pile dock face was ripped apart, leaving some of the sheet pile standing but not connected to the dock face. The rest of the sheet pile face was completely dislodged from the dock and left scattered at the bottom of the shipping channel. The US Air Force determined that this project was necessary and urgent as the fuel resupply barge is scheduled to arrive later this summer. In order for the barge to offload fuel, the remaining sheet pile face must be extracted, and the underwater debris must be removed from the shipping channel.

AGL will be working with a US Navy dive team to perform a sonar survey of the shipping channel to identify damaged dock debris. The debris will be tagged and buoyed for future removal by Ahtna. An ocean-going tug, barge, crane and vibrator pile hammer will be mobilized to Shemya to perform the work. AGL will have two marine mammal observers on staff during all marine operations. The removed debris and sheet pile will be transported to Seattle, Washington for disposal.