FAA VOR Site Galena, AK
This 2-story, 154,000-pound steel structure houses equipment vital for navigation of military and civilian aviators in the vast, roadless remoteness of Alaska
Summer is a busy construction time in Alaska, especially in the far north, where the Yukon River is the only means of transporting heavy steel structures before river levels drop and artic winter weather descends. That’s why F&W Construction relies on Steelhead Metal & Fab, LLC (Steelhead) to deliver precision-fabricated structures where they’re needed most.
When “Missing The Boat” Is Not An Option
In the case of the Galena VOR project, that means delivering a 27-foot tall (less radio dome), 154,000-pound structure with a hexagonal footprint 60 feet in diameter to a makeshift dock carved out of the banks of the Yukon River — 329 nautical miles north of Anchorage and just 190 miles from the Arctic Circle. The structure houses VHF transponders, delivering precise 360° course guidance and slant-range distance measurements to IFR and military aircraft navigating interior Alaska’s challenging terrain and weather, 24 hours a day, 360 days a year.
“We’ve successfully completed many projects with Steelhead, and we’ll continue to work with them because few fabricators can successfully manage the complex detailing, quality fabrication and lead-time performance they consistently deliver. When you only have one shipping opportunity a year into logistically challenging areas “missing the boat” is not an option. “
Robby Capps, President, F&W Construction
Delivering Exceptional Quality To Alaska’s Most Unforgiving Locations
“Steelhead has a firm grasp of the logistical and seasonal challenges we face living and working in rural Alaska,” said F&W Construction Manager, Saigen Harris. “That’s one of the reasons we rely on them to deliver exacting quality, flawless fitment and highly detailed assembly drawings. Fabrication, even galvanizing, at the scale of the Galena VOR installation is just not feasible up here — we need precision components delivered ready to assemble — from the dock to the site. Ideally, those components come off the final barge in the order they are to be assembled — the first component off the barge being the first component to start the structure per the assembly drawings. Remarkably, that’s exactly what Steelhead delivers. Consider this:”
• Steelhead fabricates and preassembles the structure at their Salem, OR facility (to ensure precise fitment and installation sequencing), then trucks the disassembled components 219 miles to the Seattle galvanizing plant.
• From the Seattle galvanizing plant, the components are loaded onto a large, Alaska Marine Lines barge which travels through the inside passage to Nome, Alaska, a journey of 1,700 nautical miles.
• At the Port of Nome, the components are loaded onto a smaller landing barge (because the Yukon River is now shallower and summer river levels will soon drop), and that barge transits the Norton Sound to the mouth of the Yucon River. In all, from Nome, the landing barge will travel another 329 nautical miles upriver to the Galena boat ramp carved out of the banks of the Yukon.
• Finally, the components are offloaded by heavy forklifts and hauled 4.5 miles on dirt roads to the VOR site — where the components are assembled in exactly the order they came off the second barge.
“The Galena VOR installation was another example of a project requiring fabrication to very exacting tolerances, and the ability to plan and manage delivery of mission-critical infrastructure to the most remote corners of the country. Over 26 years of operation, we’ve consistently demonstrated that we’re at our best when taking on these large, complex, one-off projects that require exacting fabrication, proactive communication and mastery of logistics.”
Mike Kreitzberg, Owner, Steelhead Metal & Fab, LLC
For more information about this, or other projects, or to submit a bid request, please contact:
Paul Mary, Lead Estimator
Damon Johnson, Sales Manager