Juneau airport's control tower to get its first new roof since 1987

The roof on Juneau International Airport's control tower has lasted since the tower went up in 1987 — and now it's being replaced, along with the roof hatch and access ladder that date to the same original construction.

The Juneau Assembly put up $50,697 from the airport's capital reserves on Aug. 17 as the local match, with the Federal Aviation Administration covering the rest through a $963,247 grant. The total job runs about $1 million. Design is expected to start in 2026 and construction in 2027, once the FAA grant is finalized; airport staff are aiming to submit the final application by Oct. 30.

The match took a big bite out of a thin reserve. The Airport Board voted in July to front the money when the reserve held about $110,000, roughly halving it, and by mid-August the balance was down to around $59,000. The airport is hoping to backfill it: a pending Passenger Facility Charge application, now under public notice, would let the FAA reimburse the forward-funded costs if it's approved.

The tower sits atop the passenger terminal at its southwest corner. Both were built by the City and Borough of Juneau and leased back to the FAA, and the airport's 2018 master plan flagged the tower as needing "upgrade or relocation decisions." The FAA's own project list is blunter about the roof: it "has reached its useful life."