Anchorage approves $40,000 to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan

The Anchorage Assembly approved $40,000 this week to update the airport layout plan for Merrill Field, the small-plane airport just east of downtown. Nearly all of it — $38,000 — is a federal grant, with the city putting in a $2,000 match, and because the Federal Aviation Administration grant is reimbursable, Anchorage's own out-of-pocket share is just the $2,000.

The update is required because six new instrument flight procedures were published for the airport in 2024, changing what the layout plan has to show — mainly the protected airspace and approach surfaces around the runway. Keeping the layout plan current and FAA-approved is a condition of the airport's continued federal funding.

This is the second phase of the layout-plan work; an earlier phase included a study of runway-incursion risks. It is separate from a much larger, roughly $900,000 request — also mostly FAA-funded — to prepare a full new layout plan set and evaluate the airport's longer-term development over the coming year.