AKRR receiving bids for timber trestle repairs in Whittier
The timber trestle as viewed from land, in a photo provided by Alaska Railroad.
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
The Alaska Railroad is currently receiving bids for work to perform repairs on the timber trestle at the Whittier Barge Slip berthing area. This work is part of the Railroad’s Whittier Terminal Master Plan, which the Railroad said is designed, “[t]o renew the Whittier Terminal as an efficient, resilient, and balanced facility that safety meets customer needs and empowers economic growth for the State of Alaska.”
Whittier is a unique city, in that most of the city’s land is owned by the Alaska Railroad, which is a corporation owned by the State of Alaska. In Whittier, the Railroad owns 291 acres, including a barge slip, uplands container handling/storage area, rail yard, and support facilities. This terminal was designed and built by the military during World War II and then acquired by the Railroad in 1960 when the military withdrew from Whittier.
The section view of the trestle, as taken from the design drawing by PND Engineers, provided by Alaska Railroad.
The railroad says that the “barge area [is] showing [its] age” and is an example of “aging waterfront infrastructure,” leading to these repairs. The Railroad is looking to hire a contractor to perform all phases of the repair work, which includes mobilization/demobilization; installation of new timber diagonal and horizontal cross bracing; installation of pile straps and pile – cap strap connections; and site clean-up. The contractor will be providing all their own equipment and facilities, which the Railroad will not provide utilities, marine access equipment, or support facilities.
The Alaska Railroad barge facility in Whittier is Alaska’s only rail connection to the freight rail systems of the Lower 48 and Canada, so it’s important that the barge facility continues to operate during construction. The contractor who wins this bill will need to coordinate with the Railroad and Alaska Marine Line to ensure that the work still allows for vessel operations. It is likely that construction work and vessel operations will occur concurrently, and the Railroad has security restrictions in place to ensure this happens smoothly. However, the contractor should time construction for being between barge calls as much as possible.
The timber trestle location in Whittier, as taken from the design drawing by PND Engineers, provided by Alaska Railroad.
The Railroad considered moving the barge berth, but decided to reconstruct the span in its existing location for a variety of reasons. The primary reason is that current location provides protection from wind and waves action, which allows for more predictable barge operations.
The work is scheduled to occur this summer, and the bid documents state that the project must reach final completion by August 30th, 2026. The Alaska Railroad is estimating that this construction project will cost less than $500,000. There was a pre-bid site visit held on Dec. 30 2025, and bids will be accepted until 3 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2026.
The view of the trestle at water level, screenshot of a video provided by Alaska Railroad.
A view of the trestle from the water showing an example of a diagonal brace that needs to be replaced, in a photo provided by Alaska Railroad.