DOT to extend airport in Port Lions

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

The Kodiak State Airport’s new manager says the Department of Transportation is planning a few new projects, including an extension to the airport in Port Lions.

Phil Smith worked for DOT as an equipment operator for roughly 19 years before stepping into the role of manager. His predecessor, Bruce McNeil, worked at DOT for over 30 years, and they made the switch in December.

Smith says part of his job as manager is security, which includes keeping wildlife and people off the runway, and he’s also in charge of most of Rezanof Drive between Monashka and the Pasagshak-Chiniak area.

He says they have some maintenance projects coming up. They’ll be doing pavement and man hole repairs at the “Y,” the intersection of Rezanof Dr., Mill Bay Rd., and Center St. downtown.

“And then there’s also going to be a section going from the airport out to Sargent Creek bridge, or maybe it’s Russian Creek bridge, but it’s right in that area, so that whole area out there going towards Bells Flats where there’s really big tire ruts  – the road holds a lot of water out there. That should all be repaired hopefully this year.”

The state also owns the airports in Akhiok, Karluk, Larsen Bay, Old Harbor, Ouzinkie, and Port Lions. According to Smith, Port Lions is in the planning stages of extending its runway.

DOT Design Group Chief Kirk Miller says the Kodiak Archipelago used be part of the central region. DOT has since redrawn its boundaries, and Kodiak now falls under the south coast region’s jurisdiction.

He says while the extension is new to the staff in that area, Port Lions has already collected data for the airport improvements.

“This project has been on the books for a long time. To make a long story short, we’re doing preliminary design and planning right now. We’ll be talking to the community, the air carriers in Kodiak, and our funding partner FAA and go from there.”

DOT staff reached out to the City of Port Lions last week via email with introductions and a basic idea of what it imagines for the project.

According to the email, DOT would rotate the airport counter-clockwise and extend the runway to 3,300 feet to meet FAA requirements. As outlined, field work would be scheduled to begin next month and continue on and off throughout the year.

The environmental assessment would take two years, and the projected construction would begin in 2021 or 2020.