The Alaska Department
of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF), in cooperation with
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing to complete an
airport improvements project at the Galbraith Lake Airport. The improvements
include widening and lengthening the existing runway safety area, repairing
areas of the embankment that have settled or eroded, resurfacing existing
areas with new gravel, and replacing the taxiway and runway lighting systems.
Construction is dependent on funding availability, but could occur as
early as 2006.
The Galbraith Lake airport is located near Milepost 275 of the Dalton Highway
on the north end of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. The airport is located
just north and east of Galbraith Lake, approximately 360 miles north of Fairbanks.
The airport is located at approximately 68.4800583° North Latitude and
-149.4871528° West Longitude (Secs. 14 and 23, T011S, R011E, Umiat Meridian)
(USGS Quadrangle Phillip Smith Mountains, B-5) (Refer
to Figure 1).
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Existing Condition
The airport was built in 1974-75 and is owned by the State of Alaska and currently
maintained by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Access to the community
of Galbraith Lake is by road along the Dalton Highway and by air. Galbraith
Lake is located near Pump Station 4 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAP) and
between the boundaries of the Gates of the Arctic National Park and the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
The airport is certificated under Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 139.
This certification allows it to serve 30-seat passenger aircraft. An aircraft
rescue and fire-fighting (ARFF) truck housed in an ARFF building provide services
during the 30-seat aircraft operations. The airport is used as the major transportation
link for crew changes for the nearby TAP pump stations and DOT&PF Maintenance
Stations, by flight services for tourism and commercial travel to nearby villages
(Bettles), the Brooks Range, and the Gates of the Arctic National Park and
for medical evacuations.
The existing airport facility consists of a 5,200-foot long by 150-foot wide
gravel surfaced runway with a 5,400-foot long and 250-foot wide runway safety
area. The airport has two 50 foot by 290 foot taxiways and a 525 foot by 900
foot aircraft apron. Navigational aids consist of a medium-intensity airport
lighting system.
The The current airport has several deficiencies that need to be addressed: 1) an inadequate runway safety area; 2) poor surface conditions on the runway, taxiway, and apron, 3) erosion and settlement problems that need to be corrected, and 4) an outdated lighting system that needs to be replaced (Figure 2). The FAA mandates that safety areas be upgraded to current standards for all Part 139 airports concurrent with any work on the runway. This project will bring the airport into compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulations. The runway, taxiway and apron surface irregularities, caused by thawing of the subgrade, require great expenditures of time and resources every summer. This project will raise the embankment height to increase the insulation effect, which will reduce the rate of thaw consolidation and reduce maintenance expenditures and use of scarce, high-quality, gravel surfacing resources. The proposed improvements will ensure all-season access to a facility used for fire control, pipeline security, emergency medical transport, and general aviation safety.
As shown in Figure 2, the proposed project would:
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Lengthen and widen the runway safety area from 5,400-feet to 6,400-feet long and from 250-feet to 300-feet wide to meet FAA standards. |
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Reconstruct and resurface the runway, taxiway, and apron with gravel to address permafrost degradation. |
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Replace the existing lighting system. |
| Fill materials would be mined from an existing material site located approximately one mile west of the airport or from a proposed new material site located approximately a mile and a half south of the airport (Figure 3). Materials would be transported to the project area by truck on existing access roads. Staging is expected to occur on previously filled areas at the airport and at the material sites. | |
Preliminary Research
Results
Preliminary research results on environmental resources in the project area
are described in Appendix A. A project website has been set up at www.dowl.com/projects/adotpfairport/index.htm.
In addition to identifying any concerns and/or issues your agency might have
with the proposed project, the links on the project website identify agency
specific information that is requested. Please go to the website and click
on the organization that you represent. This will take you to a list of questions
specific to your purview and a link that allows you to provide comments directly
to our environmental consultant, via e-mail.
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Appendix A |
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Figure 1- Location/Vicinity Map |
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Figure 2 - Airport Site Map |
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Figure 3 - Existing Material Source Site and New Material Source Site |
