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The Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC) has awarded a contract to Kiewit Pacific Co. to provide construction management and general contracting services for the Northern Rail Extension’s first phase. The work includes construction of the Tanana River bridge — which will become the largest bridge in the state, according to the railroad — and a levee near Salcha.

Kiewit Pacific will handle final design, permitting, right-of-way acquisition, material procurement and construction for the first phase, which is scheduled to get under way in late 2010. Funding for the first phase includes $104 million in U.S. Department of Defense appropriations and a $40 million appropriation in Alaska’s capital budget.

The 80-mile Northern Rail Extension will be built between North Pole and Delta Junction, Alaska, to accommodate freight-rail traffic and potential future passenger-rail services. ARRC will operate the extension as part of its system.

“Hiring Kiewit brings us one step closer to improving transportation options for the United States military, for mass transit and for freight movement within Alaska,” said Bill O'Leary, ARRC’s interim president/chief executive officer and chief financial officer, in a prepared statement.