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Customer: Department of Homeland Security (AS-DHS) Contract: Construct Location: American Samoa, Mount Alava    |
Fast Facts:
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The team in Pago Pago have won the contract to rehabilitate an old access road for an important new client, the American Samoan Department of Homeland Security (AS-DHS).
The project's scope is to seal and harden an existing three-metre-wide and 5.6 km long, one-lane road, from the Fagasā Pass Trailhead, alongside the Tutuila Mount Alava Hiking Trail.
The trail winds up through the hilly terrain of the National Park of American Samoa to the Maatulua and Toa Ridges at the top of Mount Alava, an important communications hub for the island. The project aims to provide safe, user-friendly access for maintenance and repairs at critical assets such as the radio repeater station.
The area alongside the access way will be cleared for 1.5 metres on either side, and obstacles such as large rocks or tree roots will be removed. Once each section is cleared, the team will prepare the road surface for boxing and concrete.
The road will be constructed from PolyFibre reinforced concrete and coloured with black oxide, so it will blend in seamlessly with its natural surroundings. Using Sika micro and macro PolyFibre will improve the roads durability and resistance to impacts. These polymer fibres provide extra structural integrity and reduce the formation of cracks, a great option instead of traditional steel reinforcement for tough environments.
The concrete will be mixed onsite at the laydown areas (shown on the map below) and then transported to each section of road. Once it is poured it takes three days to cure before then the team will fill the track with stone pitching to improve the grip on the slopes.
Work will progress in sections from the bottom to the top of the ridges. Construction is expected to take 15 months and be completed in December 2026.
Caption: below: Attendees at the sod turning included the Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean, Vice Speaker Fetui Fetu, Director of Homeland Security Vaetagaloa Glenn Lefiti, Samoan Affairs Secretary Faiivae Alex Luli, Representatives Fagaima Larry Sanitoa and Trude Ledoux Sunia, cabinet members, representatives of the National Park and McConnell Dowell.
