the port that feeds us

and starting next week, it's about to get loud.

The Port of Alaska here in Anchorage just kicked off construction on a brand new cargo terminal. Crews are replacing the old one that's been quietly falling apart for years.

Starting next week, workers begin pounding giant steel pilings into the floor of Cook Inlet. If you live on Government Hill, near Turnagain Arm, or downtown, you're going to feel it and hear it.

The work runs Monday through Saturday, from seven in the morning to ten at night, all the way through September. So pack some patience if you're nearby.

The new terminal is set to cost around 977 million dollars and wrap up in 2029. A second one follows right after that.

Here's why it matters to every one of us. Almost everything we buy, our food, our fuel, the boxes stacked on store shelves, comes across this port first. When the place that moves our goods is worn out, that's everybody's problem.

The whole rebuild runs about 2.75 billion dollars, paid mostly through bonds that get covered by fees on the goods moving through.

Bigger ships are coming, and the old docks just can't keep up. After years of talk, the rebuild is finally in the ground.