UNALASKA, AK — Stantec has been selected by the State of Alaska to provide design services for compliance and erosion control at Unalaska Airport. Owned and operated by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the Unalaska Airport is a public-use airport in the City of Unalaska, on Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands.
Stantec’s scope will improve the airport to better accommodate the needs of the Saab-2000, which provides scheduled service to the community. Bringing the airport into compliance with C-III standards, the project will increase the runway safety area width from 150 to 500 feet and install 40-knot Engineered Material Arresting Systems (EMAS) at each end of the runway. EMAS is designed to safely stop an aircraft that overruns the runway, either during a long landing or on an aborted takeoff. In Unalaska, the EMAS will be designed to keep the aircraft from reaching the water at the end of the runway. The project will also build out the west side of the apron for additional parking and space to maneuver aircraft.
To accommodate the C-III runway safety area standards, Unalaska Airport’s existing runway embankment must be expanded into Unalaska Bay. As a separate project, Stantec is leading efforts to design and construct additional erosion protection along the airport’s proposed new embankments. The erosion control efforts will aim to protect the expanded embankment from storm erosion and harsh weather conditions.
“The Unalaska Airport is an extremely unique airport with a robust history and has served as a vital connector for the Aleutian Islands for decades,” said Johnathan Limb, Principal and Aviation Leader at Stantec. “Our team is committed to preserving the historical significance at Unalaska, while helping to improve the overall safety at the airport for years to come.”
The Unalaska Airport has a deep history connecting the North American and Asian continents. Dating back to the 1940s, the airport served as a military base for the U.S. military during World War II. It still features historic revetments from that era that housed aircraft during the war. The airport continues to serve as a primary connector for both cargo and passengers between the Aleutian Islands, mainland Alaska, and the contiguous U.S.
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Stantec has been supporting airfield and apron work at Unalaska Airport since 2012, designing the last airport improvement project that increased the runway safety area on each runway end, installed new core-locs, and resurfaced the runway. The firm is currently supporting a taxiway and apron pavement rehabilitation project that will improve the pavement conditions and drainage for the airport’s two aprons and modify the terminal apron to establish two new taxiways to meet current airport design standards. Stantec also completed PFAS assessment services as part of the ongoing apron expansion efforts.
