Kotzebue Airport Relocation Feasibility Study

This study examines the feasibility of relocating Kotzebue's Ralph Wien Memorial Airport, a regional hub that serves eleven communities and the Red Dog Mine. The airport is the principal means of transporting people to Kotzebue and the outlying communities and plays a significant role in the transportation of mail and cargo.

The airport is located on the Kotzebue spit adjacent to the city of Kotzebue, providing easy access by Kotzebue residents but also hindering airport and city expansion. Achieving operational efficiency and an acceptable level of safety at this very constrained site is already challenging and may become impractical in the future.

Relocating the airport to a less constrained site is a serious consideration because of the potential expense involved due to the very poor soil conditions in the area and the general lack of good material sources. Relocation of the airport farther from the community would also cause cost increases to airport users, air carriers, and local businesses.

The current economic outlook, however, makes a strong case against both relocation and significant improvements to the existing facility. Relocating the airport would range from $760 million to $1.29 billion. Expanding the existing facility to meet most of the facility requirements would cost $560 million, but the airport would still have approach limitations after the expansion. Also, any further improvements at the existing site beyond those identified in this study would be extremely difficult to accomplish due to physical constraints and cost considerations. Given the magnitude of the costs and the need to compete with other high priority projects for a limited pool of funding, either constructing a relocated facility or making significant improvements to the existing facility to meet the ultimate needs would only be feasible if funding could be secured.

Contact Information:
Ryan Anderson, P.E.
Ryan.Anderson@alaska.gov
(907) 451-5129