One of Alaska’s biggest construction spenders over the past century continues to pour money into the Last Frontier. U.S. defense construction spending in the strategic state will reach $495 million this year, says a new University of Alaska-Anchorage report. Although the total is down from recent years, spending is strong by historic standards and is expected to stay robust as troop levels increase. “We have a very healthy schedule for the next few years,” says Randy Bowker, Army Corps of Engineers Alaska programs chief.
The military will concentrate its Alaska dollars on housing, operations structures and runway upgrades, says the report. About $131 million will go toward infrastructure and facilities at Elmendorf Air Force Base, near Anchorage, which will house the next generation of fighter jets. The Grow-the-Army initiative will bring 1,300 new troops by 2013 to Fort Richardson in Anchorage and Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks. The Army is set to have almost 15,000 soldiers in Alaska within five years.