Upper Tanana Airport Planning Study

Map of study area.

The 2003 Copper Basin and Upper Tanana Valley Regional Airport Plan explored current and forecasted aviation needs in the Copper Basin and Upper Tanana Valley. The plan included an inventory of existing facilities and conditions, an aviation forecast, system development alternatives, and a recommended development plan. It also included defining a publicly owned and operated airport system within the system boundaries that reduces redundancy and fills deficiencies. The plan committed to further studying the region in hopes of identifying ways to specifically accommodate airports in the region and discussed ideal conditions where DOT&PF could focus their efforts.

The Upper Tanana Airport Planning Study (UTAPS) examined several road system airports in the Upper Tanana region to determine how to best accommodate the uses in each project area, that can meet the needs of all or most users. The airports primarily under consideration are those in Tok, Tanacross, Northway, and Gulkana. Understanding how stakeholders use airports within the region is an important aspect of the investigation. Stakeholder and public input will be solicited in several ways: targeted interviews with key stakeholders, broadly distributed surveys, and public meetings.

The Upper Tanana Airport Planning Study has been completed and the Final Report is available as of September, 2023. The report recommends that the Tok Junction Airport be expanded as a regionally significant airport. Thank you to all who offered thoughts and insights on this project.