A winning bid for a highway and bridge construction project near Fairbanks in 1974 marked the beginning of Knik Construction Co., Inc., and the company is still making connections 50 years later. Knik has branched out to include a variety of heavy construction projects to improve access to remote areas and upgrade infrastructure all over the world. The company has left a lasting mark on Alaska’s remote construction market, connecting the state’s communities and people, especially in Western Alaska.
For Knik President Dan Hall, it’s the relationships built with employees, government, tribal and village partners that stand out over the decades.
“Some of our most memorable work is when we can go into a village to improve its infrastructure and involve the local residents in that work,” he says. “In Aniak, we leaned heavily on local people to complete a large multi-season runway project. We developed training and workforce development partnerships with The Kuskokwim Corporation and Calista Corporation that were mutually beneficial.”
Knik did the same in the native village of Platinum, hiring local residents to mine their own rock, process it to specification, truck it to the port site and load it on customers’ barges. “It is a true community project,” Dan says.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and other state and federal agencies have recognized Knik’s excellence and commitment over the past 50 years. In 2018, Knik repaired an earthquake-damaged freeway in Anchorage in record time, leading to national recognition and media coverage. Most recently, Knik was presented with a National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) Award for an airport reconstruction project in McGrath, AK, and also received the AGC Alaska and AGC National “Excellence in Construction Award, Meeting the Challenge of a Job: Transportation, Heavy, Marine and Earthmoving Award” for emergency coastal storm repairs in September 2022 after Typhoon Merbok.
“We are proud to mark this 50-year milestone,” Dan says, “but we are most proud of the excellent work we’ve done and the lasting relationships we’ve built.”
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