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Airport operations update: runway lighting fixes, obstruction removal and FAA grants in progress
Summary
Maintenance staff described interim runway-lighting fixes and long-term FAA funding timelines; consultant Corey Sigford recapped AIP/BIL-funded projects, obstruction removal bids, taxiway construction and upcoming ALP/AEGIS updates at Sandpoint and Priest River airports.
Maintenance and engineering updates at the meeting explained both short-term repairs to keep runways operable and longer-term FAA-funded projects that will require county matching funds.
Dale Lockwood, Bonner County Airport maintenance manager, reported crews disabled and are replacing noncompliant buried runway lighting at Priest River after FAA inspection identified exposed wiring. Lockwood said parts donated by Coeur d'Alene Airport and an electrician with aviation experience have helped steady the system while the county waits on full runway lighting replacement funded by the FAA.
Lockwood and airport staff described the runway lighting systems at both Sandpoint and Priest River as older direct-burial installations without service cans, making repairs labor-intensive and costly. Staff are installing insulated canisters and isolation sections to make fault-finding easier and reduce excavation time on 3,000-volt systems.
Why it matters: aging direct-burial runway wiring complicates maintenance, increases outage risk and raises safety and cost concerns until FAA-funded reconstruction occurs; staff said the FAA’s multi-year funding cycles push full rebuilds years into the future.
On grants and projects, consultant Corey Sigford (Ardura) outlined active and pending grants. Key items included: appraisals and anticipated mid-June grant offers for land acquisitions and RPZ (runway protection zone) protection at Sandpoint; a September tree- and obstruction-removal construction window if grant award and contractor bid review complete; a taxiway-and-apron project at Sandpoint (one leg of an L-shaped taxiway) under construction and expected to pave imminently; and an ALP/AEGIS update at Priest River with aerial imagery, threshold-siting review and public meetings planned as part of the master plan update.
Funding sources discussed included FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants and allocations from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL); staff said AIP funding comes from passenger facility charges and fuel taxes and that BIL is a separate, recent funding pot available for some projects. Sigford said some projects are BIL-funded because Sandpoint had not used BIL allocations in prior years and the funding was packaged for obstruction removal.
Project costs and schedule notes shared by staff and consultant included: taxiway work and apron paving already under contract at Priest River; Sandpoint obstruction removal bidding attracted five bidders with a potential September construction window; ALP/AEGIS and threshold-siting work planned over the next 12 months; and utility extensions (water/sewer) being planned as part of apron/taxiway projects to support future hangar development.
Ending: staff said they will complete appraisals and coordinate buy-sell agreements for RPZ parcels at Sandpoint, finalize bid reviews for tree removal, continue taxiway paving work and proceed with ALP updates and public meetings so the county can set longer-term construction priorities and match FAA grant timelines.
