On Friday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that Kotzebue, Alaska will receive a $15.5 million Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant.
The FAA money will help expand runway safety areas at Kotzebue's Ralph Wien Memorial Airport, specifically on runway 9/27. The Northwest Arctic Borough city airport is extremely important to the area. No roads connect the far-north community to the outside world. And the improvements will help prevent unnecessary accidents and aircraft damage in the event aircraft overrun or accidently veer off the runway.
The Kotzebue runway construction will be particularly tricky to update because the runway is surrounded by water. The 5,900-foot runway will first be moved 200 feet to the east before safety modifications begin.
The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) acting administrator Michael Huerta said, "We are pleased to provide crucial infrastructure support to enhance safety in the Alaska region." He added, "Enhancing runway safety area is a national priority for the FAA." Construction is expected to being in October and continue until late 2014.