Noatak airport relocation goes to bid at up to $90M

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities opened bidding Wednesday on the Noatak Airport Relocation, carrying an engineer's estimate of $80 million to $90 million and a final completion date of May 1, 2030.

Sealed bids are due by 2 p.m. on August 13 at DOT&PF's Office of the Contracts Engineer in Fairbanks. The scope covers all labor, materials, equipment, and work for the relocation, including a new 4,000-foot runway, taxiway, apron, Snow Removal Equipment Building, and airport access road at a site roughly 1.5 miles west of the existing airport.

For Noatak, a Northwest Arctic Borough community with no road connection to the broader Alaska highway system, the airstrip is the only way materials move in and out for eight months of the year. Barge traffic can deliver fuel and larger goods in summer. The existing runway sits near the Noatak River, and accelerating riverbank erosion has intensified the push to relocate.

At a DOT&PF monthly update in September 2025, Northern Region project staff member Al Beck said the department was moving quickly because of erosion concerns. "There's been erosion occurring out in that community from the Noatak River, and we are rapidly working on that project to acquire the right-of-way and get a review set out and get all our permits needed so we can get that project out on the street and have a contractor available to help with any community needs as erosion continues," Beck said. "So that is a hot one for the region."

The bid marks a milestone in a project years in the making. DOT&PF launched a project webpage in 2023, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued the Final Environmental Assessment under NEPA in 2024. DOT&PF had projected construction from 2026 through 2028. The current bid sets a May 1, 2030 completion date.

Two variables remain open. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not yet issued a Section 404 permit covering nearly 165 acres of permanent wetland impacts, including 698,073 cubic yards of gravel fill. Project documents also flag seasonal constraints tied to frozen-ground access for material extraction and equipment haul routes.

To build the new facility, DOT&PF plans to acquire roughly 323 acres outright and temporary interests in about 160 additional acres for mobilization and haul roads, affecting local landowners holding seven fee or easement parcels and 28 temporary construction easements. The existing airport property will be disposed of once it is no longer needed for airport use.