For many Alaskan communities, aircraft are the only reliable means of transportation because they are not connected by roads to the rest of the state. Airports play a vital role in how people travel, receive medical care, and access food, fuel and essential supplies.
There are nearly 400 public airports in Alaska, including approximately 240 owned and operated by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF). DOT&PF identifies, prioritizes and delivers projects that improve transportation and enhance public safety across the state. Each airport presents unique challenges, requiring designs that respond to site access, airspace constraints, unstable soils, permafrost conditions and extreme weather.
Rural Aviation Design in Alaska
Designing rural airports in Alaska requires balancing engineering performance with long-term operational realities. Projects must account not only for aviation standards and environmental conditions, but also for limited construction seasons, remote logistics and the needs of communities that rely on aviation every day.
R&M has supported airport and aviation infrastructure projects across Alaska through planning, surveying, engineering, geotechnical, environmental and construction services. Through this experience, successful rural airport design consistently prioritizes reliability, maintainability and adaptability to changing environmental conditions. Technical solutions must perform under extreme weather, while remaining practical for local operators to maintain with limited resources.
The Newtok Airport Relocation Airport project illustrates how these principles come together when engineering design aligns with community priorities and Alaska’s unique environmental conditions.
Why Rural Airports Matter So Much in Alaska
Many rural Alaskan communities are not connected to the National Highway System or the Alaska Highway System. As a result, airports serve multiple roles at once, including:
- Passenger travel for residents and visitors.
- Medevac and emergency response access.
- Delivery of groceries, fuel, mail and supplies.
- Economic support for fishing, tourism and local businesses.
- Connection to education, healthcare and family.
In these communities, airport reliability directly affects daily life. Flight delays or cancellations can impact healthcare access, supply chains and economic activity in ways that extend far beyond transportation.
The Newtok Airport Relocation Project
The Newtok community has faced ongoing erosion from the Ningliq River for many years. By 2005, erosion had already impacted barge landing and landfill areas, and projections indicated additional structures would be threatened within the following decade. Between 2018 and 2020, the community relocated approximately nine miles southeast to Nelson Island, along Baird Inlet, establishing the new community of Mertarvik at a higher elevation less vulnerable to coastal erosion.
DOT&PF, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and numerous state and federal partners supported the relocation effort, including development of a new airport to serve the relocated community. R&M Consultants, Inc. (R&M) developed the design for the airport relocation project, creating the aviation infrastructure necessary to support the community’s long-term future.
Accessibility Is Essential, Not Optional
In rural Alaska, accessibility extends beyond regulatory compliance. Airport design must consider the people who depend on it, including elders, individuals with disabilities, families and residents traveling for medical care under unpredictable weather conditions.
The Newtok community emphasized the importance of locating the airport close to town to reduce travel distance during severe weather and limited visibility. In response, the airport was constructed less than one mile from the community, improving safety and accessibility for year-round operations.
Designing Mertarvik Airport for Critical Aircraft
A key step in airport design is identifying the critical aircraft — the aircraft type expected to operate most frequently at the airport. This determination is made through operational forecasting using historical data, published aviation information, and coordination with existing and potential air carriers.
For Mertarvik, the Cessna Caravan 208 and Piper Navajo were identified as the critical aircraft, each meeting the FAA threshold of at least 500 annual operations. The critical aircraft designation guides the design of the runway, taxiway and supporting infrastructure to safely accommodate aircraft size, speed and performance characteristics in accordance with FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13, Airport Design.
Runway Design
The main runway (RW 12/30) was designed to Runway Design Code B-II(S)-VIS standards. This means the runway is sized to support small- to medium-sized aircraft such as the Caravan and Navajo, accommodates their landing speeds and wingspans, and is designed for basic visibility conditions without advanced instrument landing systems.
Taxiway Design
The taxiway — the path aircraft use to move between the runway and aircraft parking apron — was designed to Taxiway Design Group 2 standards, ensuring appropriate width and geometry for aircraft with similar wheel configurations and turning requirements.
Designing Mertarvik for Climate and Geology
Mertarvik is located approximately 100 miles northwest of Bethel, where transportation between communities typically occurs by boat or airplane. The region experiences extreme cold, frequent freeze-thaw cycles, strong winds, snow and ice, limited daylight during winter months, and restricted access for construction and maintenance. These conditions significantly influence both how airport infrastructure is built and how it performs over time.
The airport includes a gravel-surfaced runway, taxiway, apron and access road designed to perform reliably in these conditions. The site consists of unstable permafrost, silty sands and gravels overlain by organic soils and surrounded by wetlands. Runway alignment was selected to align with prevailing winds, while avoiding culverts beneath the embankment, reducing long-term maintenance risks. The apron location minimized required fill quantities, reducing impacts to wetlands while improving constructability and cost efficiency.
The project is located on the north end of Nelson Island and is bounded by the Ningliq River, which drains into Baird Inlet. Subsurface conditions include silt, silty sand and basalt with discontinuous permafrost. The basalt rock, formed through volcanic activity, creates columnar formations that extend several hundred feet in some areas. Above this layer lies a six-inch to two-foot thick organic peat layer that covers much of the site.
While the basalt becomes more competent with depth, most native soils near the surface are highly frost susceptible. Permafrost conditions vary across the site in both depth and thickness, creating a complex mix of soil and thermal environments. In thawed areas, soils remain wet and water tends to pond on the organic surface. The organic layer also insulates the ground, limiting seasonal thaw depth to approximately two feet. However, permafrost can degrade along drainage paths and in areas where water accumulates, making effective water management essential to maintaining embankment stability.
Because of these varying conditions, the airport was constructed across multiple soil and thermal environments. The embankment design preserved organic materials where practical and incorporated geosynthetic fabrics placed on existing ground to reduce material loss into tundra soils. Geogrid reinforcement strengthened embankment edges and minimized uneven settlement, helping the airport perform consistently despite changing ground conditions.
At Mertarvik, understanding how soil, water and temperature interact was as critical to long-term performance as the airfield geometry itself.
Designing Easy-to-Maintain Infrastructure for Maintenance and Operations
When airport operations are impacted by weather, maintenance challenges or accessibility barriers, the effects are immediate. A delayed flight may mean a missed medical appointment, spoiled food shipments or extended travel delays.
Many rural airports operate with small teams, where staff perform multiple roles ranging from airfield maintenance to passenger assistance. The Mertarvik Airport was designed to:
- Use standardized, durable components, such as maintenance buildings, culverts and navigational aids, including lighting, wind cones and rotating beacons.
- Support safe operations during poor weather conditions.
- Reduce reliance on specialized equipment or maintenance procedures.
These decisions help ensure the airport can be maintained efficiently over its lifespan.
Planning for Reliability and Resilience
The goal of rural airport design is not perfection, but dependability. Resilient infrastructure allows communities to maintain consistent access even under challenging environmental conditions.
At Mertarvik, resilience was achieved through mechanical and electrical systems designed for safe operation in harsh climates and infrastructure that can be repaired locally whenever possible.
Lighting, Visibility and Winter Operations
Extended periods of darkness combined with snow glare and blowing snow require careful attention to visual aids and lighting systems. Design considerations included:
- Lighting systems selected for reliability and ease of repair.
- Minimal reliance on components requiring frequent calibration or specialized servicing.
- Visual aids designed to improve safety during low-visibility conditions.
Quality-Driven Design for the Newtok Community and Alaska’s Aviation Network
Designing rural airports in Alaska is not simply an engineering task — it is a responsibility to the people who depend on aviation every day. Quality airport design directly supports safety, accessibility, reliability and quality of life.
Designing the Mertarvik Airport required an operations-focused, performance-based approach. R&M coordinated with the community, air carriers, DOT&PF and the FAA to ensure the airport would be reliable, maintainable and safe under extreme conditions.
Because Mertarvik is not connected to other communities by road, the airport provides the community’s only year-round reliable access to healthcare, food, fuel, mail and essential services, while supporting a local economy built on fishing, subsistence activities, construction, education, tribal services and government operations.
When technical solutions align with community needs and Alaska’s environmental realities, rural airports become resilient infrastructure assets that strengthen communities and support economic stability across the state.
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