Drift River Erosion Control

Drift River, Alaska

PROJECT SUMMARY

Name of Project
Drift River Erosion Control

Location of Project
Drift River, Alaska

Client
Hilcorp Alaska

Situation
Located at the base of Mt. Redoubt, an active volcano, Drift River is home to seven 10-million-gallon bulk fuel tanks. The 2009 eruption of Mt. Redoubt unleashed flooding five times greater than the flow of the Mississippi River, nearly washing away the tank farm. Three years later, Hilcorp Alaska commissioned a design-build project to protect its newly-acquired Cook Inlet assets against future high-impact flooding risks.

Challenges
High tides encroaching on the project access site created unique logistics challenges for the team.

Solution
The solution came in the form of a hybrid earthen dike and sheet pile wall stretching 3,000 lineal feet. Barges brought equipment and materials into Cook Inlet during high tide, dropping anchor as the tide receded—this went on for four days. Every day, STG and our partners had to maintain the 1.5-mile-long tidal mudflat road and the locally-sourced access ramp to unload and mobilize four million pounds of steel and equipment onto military flatbed-style tractors. In just five short months, STG took the project from design to procurement to completion—on time, on budget, and with zero change orders. Together with sister companies Brice Marine and Brice Civil Construction, as well as hydrologists and geotechnical engineers, the Drift River Erosion Control project is one of STG’s largest collaborative projects to date.

LOCATION MAPS

PROJECT PHOTOS

PROJECT SUMMARY

Name of Project
Drift River Erosion Control

Location of Project
Drift River, Alaska

Client
Hilcorp Alaska

Situation
Located at the base of Mt. Redoubt, an active volcano, Drift River is home to seven 10-million-gallon bulk fuel tanks. The 2009 eruption of Mt. Redoubt unleashed flooding five times greater than the flow of the Mississippi River, nearly washing away the tank farm. Three years later, Hilcorp Alaska commissioned a design-build project to protect its newly-acquired Cook Inlet assets against future high-impact flooding risks.

Challenges
High tides encroaching on the project access site created unique logistics challenges for the team.

Solution
The solution came in the form of a hybrid earthen dike and sheet pile wall stretching 3,000 lineal feet. Barges brought equipment and materials into Cook Inlet during high tide, dropping anchor as the tide receded—this went on for four days. Every day, STG and our partners had to maintain the 1.5-mile-long tidal mudflat road and the locally-sourced access ramp to unload and mobilize four million pounds of steel and equipment onto military flatbed-style tractors. In just five short months, STG took the project from design to procurement to completion—on time, on budget, and with zero change orders. Together with sister companies Brice Marine and Brice Civil Construction, as well as hydrologists and geotechnical engineers, the Drift River Erosion Control project is one of STG’s largest collaborative projects to date.

LOCATION MAPS