Project Overview
The Port of Nome serves as one of northern Alaska’s most critical marine infrastructure sites. Groceries, construction materials, equipment, and other goods are shipped to and from the port to 60 communities, from Unalaska to Utqiagvik. With its traffic increasing exponentially since 1990, the port was in need of a substantial expansion.
The City of Nome and the U.S. Army Corps Engineers (USACE) conducted a comprehensive joint feasibility study and determined that expanding this maritime transportation hub was foundational to the long-term viability of the surrounding communities in the region. PND is the designer of record for the multiphased -plus arctic port expansion project for the City of Nome. Spanning four distinct phases, this project will enhance the port’s capacity for growing maritime demands in the Arctic and ultimately position the Port of Nome as the northernmost deepwater port in North America.
PND, working directly for the City of Nome, is served as the designer of record for the OPEN CELL SHEET PILE™ (OCSP™) dock and uplands, while USACE provided design for the armor stone causeway and overseeing contracting and bidding efforts for the federally funded project. This unique arrangement has required close collaboration between PND and USACE during design to ensure adherence to federal requirements and project schedules, as well as appropriate integration of the dock and armor stone transitions.
Our Role
- Arctic Engineering: creating North America’s northernmost deepwater port
- Coastal Engineering: designing multiple OCSP™ docks and additional upland storage to expand the Port of Nome’s transportation and tourism capabilities
- Structural Engineering: increasing the port’s moorage capacity, draft capabilities and storage area through efficient structural design
- OPEN CELL SHEET PILE: adding multiple OCSP bulkheads and abutments
Boosting Port Cargo Capacity & Strength
During Phase 1A, PND designed a 600-foot-long OCSP™ bulkhead and uplands storage for the 1,200-foot, USACE-designed west causeway extension, allowing large amounts of cargo to be staged anywhere along the new structure. PND will provide construction administration services throughout Phase 1A, while coordinating bid documents for Phase 1B―an additional 2,300-foot-long causeway extension and ±1,500-foot OCSP bulkhead. Phase 1 construction costs made the project the largest-valued civil works project in USACE Alaska District history.
“They’ve done design. They’ve done repairs. They’ve done inspections. They’ve done permitting. They’ve pretty much been my right arm. I think [PND] does a good job of understanding what your problems are and putting their collective heads together to determine the best and most practical fix. ... They stand by their work, and they’re confident in their work.”
Phase 2, led by USACE, will significantly deepen the port’s capabilities by dredging the basin from the existing seabed as shallow as 22 feet deep to provide a 40-foot-deep berthing and turning basin. For Phase 3, PND is designing ±2,400 feet of dock, three mooring dolphins, and a breach bridge with OCSP bridge abutments.
Acres
additional uplands storage designed by PND
Linear Feet
cumulative causeway extensions
Linear Feet
cumulative new OCSP™ bulkheads
