Alaska West Express expands in Fairbanks

The Fairbanks expansion project with dirt work in progress.

Alaska West Express has expanded its Fairbanks facility by 22 acres. "We are using nine acres for our facility and the remaining space is a large gravel pit that was used to mine 25,000 yards of gravel for our property improvements," says Gage Schutte, Vice President of Freight Operations. The facility is fully fenced and secure with lighting to be added this summer. The added space allows for trucks to be parked in a separate area from the rail yard for more efficient freight handling.

January ushers in the beginning of ice road deliveries for the Fairbanks team. "Freight increases at this time each year as we start hauling freight to resupply remote sites that have been waiting all year for seasonal restock," Gage says. "We are also seeing an uptick in project freight like modules and structural steel for the Santos Pikka project."