Watterson Construction Wins $124 Million Fort Wainwright Barracks Contract

Watterson Construction Co. of Anchorage, Alaska, has won a $123.8 million firm-fixed-price contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and build a barracks for 320 soldiers at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The unaccompanied enlisted personnel housing project will include living quarters, shared amenities and building safety systems. Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 15, 2029.

Fort Wainwright Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing Details

Under the design-build solicitation, Watterson will construct living and sleeping quarters with bathrooms, storage space, laundry rooms and service areas. The barracks will have a day room on each floor and two elevators.

The project also calls for building information systems, an overhead canopy and anti-terrorism measures. Watterson will install fire protection and alarm systems, mass notification and intrusion detection systems, and a connection to energy monitoring controls. The work brings housing, common areas and protective systems together in a single 320-soldier facility.

Award and Contractor Background

The Army’s project justification described the need for new housing at Fort Wainwright: 582 enlisted personnel spaces were in barracks with common latrines, including 355 away from the main duty area on the north side of Ladd Army Airfield. The Army said those facilities lacked cooking facilities and cited the long winter commute from the remote housing area as a quality-of-life concern.

The Corps used a two-phase, full-and-open competition, according to the presolicitation notice. Four firms—Ghemm Company, Korte Construction Company, Unit-ASRC Construction and Watterson—were selected to advance to the second phase. The award notice reported four bids received.

Watterson previously received a roughly $70.4 million Corps contract in January 2023 to build a 252-bed barracks at Fort Wainwright. An Army account of that project’s groundbreaking described it as the installation’s first new barracks in 12 years.

This award was disclosed by the DoW in its daily press release. Additional contract details will be available on HigherGov in approximately 90 days under W911KB27CA002 after the contract is formally disclosed by the government.