GHD to Modernize Alaska Land Port of Entry

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 01, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The global professional services company GHD has been named the prime designer on a $470 million design build modernization project for the Alcan Land Port of Entry (LPOE) in Alaska. The Alcan LPOE is situated at Milepost 1221.8 on the Alaska Highway, serving as the primary year-round, 24-hour land crossing between Alaska and Canada. This vital facility, which is more than 400 miles east of Anchorage, was constructed in the early 1970s and no longer meets the operational needs of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the US General Services Administration (GSA).

The project, a GSA Design Excellence project, will replace the existing LPOE with a resilient, high-performance facility tailored to the unique demands of one of North America's most remote operating environments. The modernized facility will be designed to serve federal agencies for decades to come, balancing federal security requirements, operational efficiency, sustainability, and long-term durability while addressing the challenges of Alaska's northern climate.

As part of a joint venture with RESPEC Company, LLC, GHD serves as the prime designer of record, supporting Davis Constructors & Engineers, Inc. as the design-build contractor. The project will replace aging port operations facilities, housing, service and support buildings with modern infrastructure. It includes a new LPOE main port building, commercial and non-commercial inspection buildings, a firearms range, a community health and fitness building, a utility building with an interconnected utilidor system, and 20 housing units for CBP personnel, their dependents, and GSA operations and maintenance staff.

The project's remote location makes resilience and energy performance particularly important. The modernized facility is targeting PHIUS CORE Passive Building Certification and is being designed to support a path toward net-zero readiness through reduced energy demand, renewable energy strategies, and high-performance building systems. A solar power system comprising building- and pole-mounted photovoltaic panel arrays, battery storage, and microgrid controls will support on-site energy generation to help strengthen the facility's energy resilience.

The design also incorporates climate adaptation measures to address changing environmental conditions in interior Alaska, including increasing wildfire risk, extreme cold, heavy snow, and freeze-thaw cycles. These considerations are being integrated into the project with the goal of supporting long-term durability and reliable operations throughout the facility's planned 50-plus-year service life, in alignment with federal sustainability and resilience goals.

GHD, established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to making water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental, and construction solutions to public and private sector clients.

GHD's network of 12,000+ professionals is connected across 160 offices on five continents.