"We want to upgrade and retrofit the 30-year-old terminal," said David Eberle, the airport's director of terminal redevelopment projects and airport construction.

Eberle said that construction on the A concourse will start in the fall of 2006, and once it has been completed, all of the carriers will be moved from the B concourse into the A concourse. During the work in the A concourse, tenants there will be relocated elsewhere in either the B or C terminals.

"This will take two winters and one summer, and we estimate the construction to be complete by 2009," Eberle said.

Using Edmonton, Canada-based PCL Construction as at-risk construction manager, the airport is trying to gain more control over construction costs.

An at-risk contractor assumes all of the responsibility for achieving the project on budget and hires all of the subcontractors to do the various aspects of the contract.

"The (at-risk) contractor works side-by-side with the owner of a project," Eberle said. "The big advantage to this is that the owner is still in charge of the design, and the contractor can help them choose more cost-effective design and construction."

"We looked at 16 different alternatives and decided on this," Eberle said. The at-risk construction manager is brought into the process early to help with the design and scheduling of construction.

"This way the designers can't go off on a tangent and create something that is difficult and expensive to build," Eberle said.

According to Eberle, the at-risk contractor is responsible for letting the bids to obtain sub-contractors for work on the terminal renovation.

PCL is a $4 billion, employee-owned company that gained its experience and reputation on projects like the $1.6 billion Toronto, Ontario, airport terminal. According to Eberle and PCL officials, the firm was chosen by an extensive competitive request-for-qualifications process by the state that pitted it against two other major construction project management companies.

"We work with the design team and the owner to make sure that projects get done on budget, by working with the sub-trades," said PCL project manager Scott Ivany. "We want to get to know all the trades here in Alaska, and eventually have a permanent presence here in Anchorage."

Both Eberle and Ivany said the new at-risk management is in place to work with available capital, and will not require having to go back to the Legislature for more funds, or worse, stop the project.

Anchorage airport management and the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities have previous experience with building difficulties, when costs for building the C concourse ran up to $233.1 million, more than double the original estimates for the project. Change orders inflicted after design were blamed for the overages, according to state officials.

The original airport improvement package, designed in 1999, was to have included the upgrade and remodeling of the A and B terminals in addition to roads, parking and airspeed improvements.

The total cost of the facelift for the A and B concourses, according to Eberle, is $178.8 million.

Gov. Frank Murkowski asked the state Legislature last session for $466 million in bonds for projects to upgrade the Anchorage and Fairbanks airports. At that time, $91.5 million was to be used to complete the A and B terminal work, and $51.5 million was to come from federal funding. The addition funds are to come from left-over funds from other projects, and from interests on bonds from previous sales.

The Anchorage A and B concourses will receive a new baggage conveyor belt system, will be retrofitted structurally for seismic activity, and will get a facelift inside and out to match the look of the new C concourse, according to Eberle.

"The goal is to improve the depressing old look of the terminal and make the south terminal look like one building," Eberle said.