The U.S. Maritime Administration has issued a prepared statement citing "concerns" over the Anchorage Port expansion's design, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The Maritime Administration, known as MARAD, said in a prepared statement that preliminary findings of the draft statement "support our concern" that the design for the port was "inappropriate for the conditions at the Port of Anchorage."
MARAD believes the dock design, patented as Open Cell Sheet Pile by PND Engineers Inc., will be susceptible to earthquake damage.
PND found Dennis Nottingham told the Anchorage Daily News that his patented design has "held up in thousands of earthquakes" across Alaska and the world.
The stalled project is envisioned as a $700 million major redevelopment and expansion of the existing facility, expected to be completed in 2013, with hopes that it will provide more efficient movement of goods and services and stimulate economic development, according to MARAD.