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HISTORY
The Port of Anchorage began operations in September, 1961. 38,000 tons of marine cargo moved across its single berth during that first year. The Port of Anchorage was the only port in South Central Alaska to survive the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. The Port has since expanded to a five-berth terminal providing facilities for the movement of containerized freight, iron and steel products, bulk petroleum and cement. The high water mark of Port operations occurred in 2005 when, for the first time, more than 5 million tons of various commodities moved across the Port's docks.
 Anchorage is served regularly by two major carriers which bring four to five ships weekly from the Pacific Northwest. Petroleum tankers supply jet fuel for airport operations, barges on-load petroleum products for western and interior Alaska, and ships from Japan and Korea call frequently transporting construction materials or loading refined petroleum.
The dots on this map show the numerous coastal and interior cities
and villages whose needs for fuel and goods are served by barges that
start out from the Port of Anchorage.
A 128.96 acre Industrial Park adjoins the Port to the east. Approximately 80.87 acres of the Park are under long-term lease to various Port users. Additionally, there are 31.0 acres for the staging and storage of marine cargo in transit. However, a majority of that acreage is presently occupied by the two major general cargo carriers, Horizon Lines and Totem Ocean Trailer Excpress (TOTE). In order to maintain market dominance, the Port will need to accommodate larger ships, be able to unload containers using better and bigger cranes, and ensure continued service to city businesses, citizens, and the State. The Port needs to modernize the necessary intermodal transportation links needed to meet these increased demands.
Towards that end, starting in 2003, the Port of Anchorage undertook an initiative to expand and modernize. If able to stay on schedule, by 2013 the Port will double in size and be a world-class Intermodal facility capable of not only better supporting its current tenants; but also poised to take advantage of growing opportunities being presented by changes occurring in the global shipping industry. The Port's Expansion Program involves three phases:
1) Road and Rail Extension (completed in 2006)
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improved cargo flow and made the Port intermodal
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substantially reduced traffic conflicts outside of Port boundaries
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improved local air quality
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better support to increasing military deployments
2) North Terminal (started in 2006)
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accommodate increased barge shipments
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potential for barge business growth
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support major Alaska construction projects
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improve coordination between barge and container ship traffic
3) Dock Expansion (to span 2008-2012)
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accommodate up to 1,000-foot ships
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berth ships requiring deeper drafts
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Support the addition of 3 new 100-gauge container cranes
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improve and expand passenger ship, container ship, bulk material, and petroleum handling
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attract a wider range of customers
For more information about the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion Project, go to the link: http://portofanchorage.org.
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