Unalaska, AK – The Dutch Harbor airport does not meet the Federal Aviation Administration's safety standards and the state has until 2015 to use $25 million of federal funds to fix it. The problem is, there isn't much room to expand the safety areas to fit the requirements. Alaska Department of Transportation manager Judy Chapman said they have two options to modify the airport to fit regulations for the smaller, B-II category aircraft that currently use the airport or to prepare it for the larger B-III aircraft that will eventually land here.

"In order to meet the 2015 deadline to build out the runway safety area, we're not going to make it if we design to airport reference code B-III criteria," she said. "Because all of the surfaces on the airport the apron setbacks, the taxiways, the runway safety area all these things get bigger."

Building to B-III standards would require the city to close the portion of Airport-Beach Road between the World War II Visitor's Center and where it meets with Ballyhoo and East Point Roads. Traffic would have to be re-routed through Standard Oil Hill. Under B-II standards the road could stay put. Under both plans, the runway will be lengthened by building out into the ocean. Ballyhoo Road will simply be moved to the end of the new, longer runway. Airport-Beach Road is considered by the federal government to be more of a safety concern than Ballyhoo.

When considering where the road runs and regulations, "it definitely becomes a safety issue," Chapman said. But, "now I look at it and say well, it is, I can see that but it's also controlled by a gate. I think to a lot of people it doesn't make a lot of sense, but we are sort of doing what the FAA tells us."

Under the current plan, the state will extend the runway into the ocean using fill or pilings to expand the safety areas by 2015. They will not close any of the current roads nor to do they have to move the current airport terminal. Chapman says this will satisfy the FAA requirements for now and will lay the base work for potentially meeting B-III standards in the future. In the meantime, the state will work with the federal government for making more non-standard exceptions for the Dutch Harbor airport so larger planes can service the area.