Archuleta County airport panel explores moving runway work into 2026 to capture higher FAA funding

The Archuleta County Airport Advisory Commission on April 20 reviewed detailed cost worksheets from engineering firm Woolpert and agreed to explore shifting portions of the planned 2027 runway reconstruction into 2026 to take advantage of a temporarily higher Federal Aviation Administration funding share.

Bill Sommer, chair of the Archuleta County Airport Advisory Commission, opened discussion after Woolpert provided two worksheets that broke project costs out by schedule and by funding source. The commission noted that moving certain construction activities into 2026 could reduce local and state shares because 2026 funding is projected at 95% FAA, 2.5% state and 2.5% local, compared with an anticipated 2027 breakdown of about 90% FAA, 5% state and 5% local.

Woolpert representatives explained that accelerating work could reduce the county’s and the state’s outlay for the same scope of work. Commissioners discussed several practical issues: whether the lighting replacement should be bundled with the runway reconstruction while the field would already be closed; whether partial runway closure or use of Taxiway Alpha could allow continued operations during construction; and how medevac flights might be affected.

Participants said the existing incandescent airfield lighting is at the end of its useful life and that including lighting replacement in the runway project while the runway is closed would likely lower future costs. Woolpert and airport staff reported that Taxiway Alpha is too narrow and its shoulder too sloped to serve as a temporary runway, and that staging only a portion of the runway for closure would substantially increase cost and construction time for marginal operational benefit.

The commission concluded that exploring the option of moving some work into 2026 was worthwhile but that both the state and the FAA would need concurrence and the county would have to authorize the change. To that end, a special session of the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners was scheduled for April 28 to consider approving acceleration of selected work into 2026. The AAC did not record a formal motion or vote at the meeting.

Commissioners also discussed the potential impact on medevac operations; minutes note the hope that medevac service would resume after the runway project is complete but do not record a mitigation plan or guarantee of uninterrupted service.

The meeting, called to order by Chair Bill Sommer at 9:00 a.m., adjourned at 10:04 a.m. No old business was reported and no future AAC meeting date was set in the minutes.