An Alaska Native firm from Utqiagvik is playing a key role in helping residents of Newtok in Southwest Alaska relocate from storm-driven erosion and flooding in their village to the new village of Mertarvik, nine miles upriver on Nelson Island.
Employees of Bowhead Transport LLC, a subsidiary of Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp., spent much of the summer hauling construction materials and supplies on the M/V Unalaq, a 150-foot long ocean-going vessel, into Mertarvik. The shallow draft of the Unalaq, which is close to five stories tall, made it possible to navigate up the Ninglick River and off-load at the shallow draft landing site.
“Project Mertarvik” as it was called, involved building a village from scratch.
Another UIC subsidiary, UIC Construction LLC, started in the fall of 2018 building roads, a new camp, houses, a new landfill and a new runway at Mertarvik. UIC Construction also built and installed a new power module, so that the new village has a permanent power source.
With help from U.S. military staff later in June and throughout the summer, Mertarvik is now ready for the first group of residents moving from Newtok to settle into their new home.
UIC officials said they are proud to be involved in different ways to help ensure the sustainability and safety of Newtok residents and to provide updated facilities and infrastructure for the new community.
UIC, an Alaska Native village corporation founded under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, is invested in a variety of industries, including construction, architecture and engineering, marine operations, logistics and maintenance and manufacturing.
More information about UIC is online at uicalaska.com.
