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Airport director details $7.6M FAA runway rehab, economic impact and plans to grow routes
Summary
The Border Coast Regional Airport Authority briefed Curry County commissioners on a $7.6 million FAA-funded runway rehab with a 5% local match, a new $600,000 fire truck and study findings that the airport supports about $2.2 million in tourist spending and roughly 100 jobs. The authority is exploring runway extensions and new routes.
Shawn Rosenthal, executive director of the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority, told the Curry County Board of Commissioners that the airport’s recently completed runway rehabilitation was financed by a $7.6 million FAA grant with a 5% community match of about $363,000.
“The FAA grant for it came in at $7.6 million,” Rosenthal said, describing work that included milling two asphalt layers, repaving, installing LED lighting and repainting markings. He said runway 18/36 is about 5,000 feet long and approximately 150 feet wide, larger than typical facilities of similar size.
Rosenthal said the project also repurposed millings for vehicle service roads and pavement maintenance. He briefed commissioners on additional capital investments: the airport received a roughly $600,000 grant for a new Rosenbauer crash truck, extrication gear and personal protective equipment. The new truck includes a thermal camera on the bumper turret and a clean-agent extinguishing system, he said.
The authority also commissioned an economic-impact study covering California and Oregon market areas. Rosenthal summarized the findings as about $22 million in total economic impact across the region, roughly 100 jobs attributable to airport operations, and about 4,000 annual visitors yielding $2.2 million in tourism spending.
Rosenthal said Advanced Air remains the airport’s regional carrier and that the airline is considering fleet updates and route expansions. “They’re going to be replacing the aircraft with newer ERJ-140s or -145s,” he said, and the carrier is exploring additional destinations including Portland and Long Beach. He said Alaska Airlines and United have baggage arrangements or partnership talks that could expand connections.
Looking ahead, Rosenthal described planning work for a second runway (AIP50, runway 12/30), currently in pre-design and geotechnical survey stages. That project’s potential start date for construction is 2028, depending on survey results, he said. Rosenthal also outlined a wildlife fence project — an $850,000 FAA-approved contract with Humboldt Fencing Company to install about 1,800 feet of perimeter fence, tentatively starting Sept. 1, 2026 — to reduce elk and deer incursions.
Board members said the airport’s improvements and outreach help local tourism and emergency-medical transport options, and they welcomed the FAA’s planned site visit in August to evaluate infrastructure and potential options to bring larger aircraft to the facility.
The airport director invited further engagement and said the authority will share the full economic study with the board and the public when available.
