Ayaprun Replacement School

 Owner: Lower Kuskokwim School District

 Architect: ECI Architecture

UNIT COMPANY and Bethel Federal Services have once again joined forces to construct the new school in Bethel, Alaska.  The new school replaces the original school that burnt down in 2015. The project consists of the construction of a new 53,865 SF (including storage mezzanine and mechanical platform) school for grades Kindergarten through 6.  Features include classrooms, gymnasium and Language and Cultural Center offices. Other features include a parking lot, fire access road, site utilities and infrastructure and public access roads.  Site utilities and infrastructure include an electrical module, generator module with associated fuel tank, installation of owner provided IT module, building utilities, boardwalks, play deck, play court, relocated basketball hoops and play equipment, provision and installation of new play equipment, landscaping, pedestrian boardwalks, pedestrian crossing over adjacent site utilidors (the utilidor hung below an occupied building), retaining walls, crosswalk lighting reconnection and replacement stairs to Lower Kuskokwim School District Building. 

The short barge shipping season in Western Alaska dictated that we have the structural building materials on the first barge to Bethel. UNIT quickly identified structural and long-lead materials items and tracked those elements on our schedule to assure ample time for delivery. We utilized Alaska Marine Lines for material staging and barging services. Materials were shipped via closed container to the greatest extent possible to protect them from the elements and secure them from theft. Upon arrival in Bethel, equipment and materials were offloaded at the Port of Bethel and transferred to the project site (or our storage yard) via flatbed trailers and forklift/loaders. 

In addition to the construction of the new school, construction included a complete upgrade to the campus data and telecom systems. The new system involved upgrades to multiple occupied buildings on the school districts campus.