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Meet Alaska 2009: Lounsbury & Associates — Decades Proud, Decades Ahead Pioneering Alaska surveying and engineering firm reaches 60-year mark Susan Braund For Petroleum News
The State of Alaska and Lounsbury & Associates have grown up together. Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2009, the oldest continually operating surveying and engineering company in Alaska has serviced the state on major infrastructure projects since 1949.
Lounsbury Vice President Ken Ayers said, “We’ve been here for 60 years and we’re still going strong. We provide a unique perspective to our clients, based on decades of experience. Our primary focus is on surveying and engineering, but we also offer professional planning and construction management. We continue to work on a wide variety projects spanning Alaska.”
The company serves a wide range of clientele, including the oil and gas industry, state and local governments, and private firms in both the commercial and residential sectors.
“We have 65 employees located in Anchorage, Wasilla and Kuparuk (North Slope oil field). Many have been with us for over 20 years,” Ayers said. “Our experienced staff is quality conscious, production oriented and equipped with the latest industry advancements. When work on Matanuska Valley transportation projects increased, we opened the Wasilla office. Fortunately we had employees who had been commuting from the Valley for years, so we were able to open with experienced staff to meet the growing demand.”
Livable neighborhoods and communities “As surveyors and engineers, we have always tried to help developers in creating good, livable neighborhoods and communities and we have a great deal of community pride,” said Ayers. “We have traditionally been very innovative in private residential development in Anchorage. Southport is probably the leading example of our subdivision design expertise, and in the early days we were involved in many of the Municipality’s anchor subdivisions, including Resolution Pointe, Collegegate and College Village, to name a few.”
After the 1964 earthquake, Lounsbury actively participated in new design, repairs and reconstruction projects in Anchorage and other communities across the state.
Decades proud, decades ahead “We’ve always been on the cutting edge of implementing new technology to better serve our clients,” said Ayers.
The latest innovation at Lounsbury is High Definition 3-D Laser Scanning, adding high definition surveying (HDS) to company services. The laser scanning technology is used to obtain three-dimensional data for a wide variety of civil and industrial applications. It is particularly well suited to complicated industrial facilities, natural resource extraction projects and locations where access is a safety concern.
“We’re excited about HDS,” said Ayers. “We tracked the technology for a long time, and now we’re using it more and more, including a dam project in Sitka, a quarry project at Wrangell airport and for process facilities on the North Slope. Our clients are very happy with the results. ”
The scanning technology is much safer than putting a person into tight, and potentially dangerous, places. Basically the scan produces a “cloud” of point data, providing highly accurate detail. Results can be delivered to the client in several different formats that can be used for multiple purposes.
“The challenge is keeping up with the software changes and educating clients and engineers of the potential and uses for the technology,” reported Ayers.
Highways, roads and roundabouts Notably, Lounsbury has worked with the Alaska Department of Transportation on virtually every major highway in Alaska, and continues to provide design for road reconstruction and realignments projects in Anchorage and across the state.
Recognized worldwide for its website www.alaskaroundabouts.com, Lounsbury designed the first modern roundabout in Alaska. The company developed the website to help the public understand roundabout, how they work and why they are becoming a cost effective design alternative throughout the United States.
Oil and gas pioneer Lounsbury has played a key role in the development of oil field infrastructure, including surveying and design of runways, roads, drill pads, and material sites for numerous oil and gas projects across Alaska.
“The company has been supporting exploration and development of oil and gas projects across the state for over five decades. We staked the discovery well for the Swanson River oil field on the Kenai Peninsula in the 1950s, helped build the giant Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk oil fields in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and our survey crews supported the design and construction of the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline System and the development of every major oil field in Alaska,” said Ayers. “The original gravel airstrip at Prudhoe Bay was laid out by Lounsbury on the tundra in 1969 and it is still in the same spot today.”
From its fully staffed office at the Kuparuk River oil field, Lounsbury continues to support exploration and development projects on the North Slope for ConocoPhillips and several independent oil companies including recent work on the near-shore Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq developments.
Ayers said Lounsbury welcomed Chevron’s return to North Slope exploration with work in the White Hills, and is proud of its association with Nunamiut Corp. doing work for Anadarko Petroleum. The summer exploration and winter construction schedules for most of these remote projects overlap. Fortunately, the company has a well-developed ability to meet a variety of difficult challenges and demanding schedules.
60th Anniversary In recognition of its anniversary, Lounsbury & Associates established the Hewitt V. Lounsbury Scholarships benefiting engineering and geomatics majors at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Two scholarships will be awarded each semester to degree-seeking engineering and geomatics students. Other anniversary plans include a summer family gathering and an open house to recognize and appreciate clients and friends.
“We are proud of the new scholarships and the full Lounsbury legacy,” said Ayers.
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