FAIRBANKS (AP) -- The Alaska Railroad will have to hustle if it wants to open a new Fairbanks depot in 2004.
The construction schedule has been delayed because railroad officials had to show that the project will not contribute to the Interior's air quality problems.
The bulk of the construction should take place in 2003, although some may still take place this summer, an Alaska Railroad official said.
''Unfortunately a delay this time of year is very significant,'' said Bob O'Neil, Alaska Railroad project manager. ''You can't get a design done and a bid out and still be competitive.''
The railroad wants to move its Fairbanks passenger terminal from near downtown to a location near the Johansen Expressway and Danby Street. The $11.5 million project includes building a depot of about 9,000 square feet with room to expand to 14,000 square feet, plus 120 regular parking spaces and 40 tour bus spaces.
The project also would include 13,000 feet of new track that would allow trains to turn around to head back south, O'Neil said.
Construction plans were affected because additional information was needed for the railroad project's environmental assessment, which has yet to be approved. Railroad staff had to show the Federal Transit Authority the depot project would not contribute to air quality alerts that Fairbanks gets in the wintertime, O'Neil said. The requirement was unexpected.
O'Neil said the railroad will be able to get the depot project out to bid by March and still open the facility in 2004, but the construction schedule will be tighter.
