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Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

NORTHERN REGION
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Statewide Planning, Fairbanks Field Office

Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Information

A planner waits for departure at Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport in Tanana.

The Aviation Improvement Program is funded out of the Aviation Trust Fund, an accumulation of aviation taxes on aviation users. The Northern Region Aviation Improvement Program is typically 50-90 million dollars per year. The schedule of projects in the AIP may change as new projects are scored and previous projects move to later years.

There are 99 DOT&PF owned and operated public airports, and one seaplane float pond, in the Northern Region. Property Management for DOT&PF airports is handled through its Leasing division.

Scoring Process

ADOT&PF scores projects based on aviation criteria and guidance, and prepares detailed project nomination sheets and estimates for each project. Criteria include safety, health and quality of life, economic development, maintenance and operations issues, local capital contribution to project cost, and others. The project nomination goes through a regional screening and then is evaluated by the Aviation Project Evaluation Board (comprised of the three ADOT&PF Regional Directors, Director of Statewide Aviation, and the Statewide Maintenance Director). This board scores project nominations from all around the state. The highest scoring projects are then ranked competitively in the Aviation Improvement Program schedule.