Kenai Airport updates master plan, announces 2026 runway rehabilitation and temporary taxiway runway

Eric George, a project engineer with HDL Engineering, told the Kenai Airport Commission on Oct. 9 that the consultant has completed the reconnaissance phase of the Kenai Airport Master Plan and will move into an evaluation phase this winter, and that a rehabilitation of the airport's primary runway, 02L/20R, is scheduled for summer 2026 and will close the runway for one construction season.

The update matters because the planned closure would require the airport to operate from a temporary runway on Taxiway Alpha and would suspend instrument approaches until the main runway reopens, limiting operations in poor weather. "The primary runway is going to be closed, and what that will leave us with, is use of the parallel taxiway, which will be used as a temporary runway," George said.

George said HDL completed the Phase 1 deliverables — inventory, socioeconomic evaluation, aviation forecasting and facility standards — over roughly 12 months and that the city is finishing its final review. He said the team expects to hold another public meeting to present Phase 1 findings before…