The Humboldt County Department of Aviation announced the reopening of the California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (ACV). Airlines resumed service on Saturday, Aug. 26.
The airport was closed Monday, Aug. 14 through Friday, Aug. 25 while work for Phase II of the ACV Runway and Electrical Rehabilitation Project took place. This project is being conducted in three phases to make much-needed improvements to ACV’s primary runway, which was last rehabilitated in 1994.
Phase I and Phase II-A of this project have now been completed, and work for Phase III is expected to conclude in December. Phase II-A of construction required a full airport closure and was the only phase that affected commercial air service at ACV. The work began on Aug. 14 to repave the primary runway and has now been completed.
Work for Phase III will continue from September through December of 2023 to continue upgrading electrical systems at the airport. This work will be done in overnight closures and will not impact airline operations. Travelers are encouraged to review the projected project schedule below and take it into consideration when making travel plans.
This rehabilitation is expected to help the airport realize another 10-20 years of useful life out of the runway before another major rehabilitation project is needed. The remaining work will be conducted with further details outlined below.
Phase II-B
Work for Phase II-B will include milling and paving work on the taxiways connecting ACV’s runways. Regularly scheduled airline flights will continue to operate during this time ACV will be closed overnight from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. during this phase Monday, Aug. 28 through the morning of Friday, Sept. 1, and again beginning the night of Monday, Sept. 4 through the morning of Friday, Sept. 8.
Phase III
Phase III will include electrical work to bring the newly installed in-pavement lighting and electrical systems flush with the newly paved runway surface. This work is scheduled for 75 nightly closures of ACV’s main runway from midnight to 6 a.m. The dates for these overnight closures are expected to be Monday, Sept. 11 through Friday, Dec. 15. Regularly scheduled airline flights will still operate during this last phase of the project outside of the overnight closure timeframes. Additionally, ACV’s secondary runway will remain open during the overnight closures for medical flights, US Coast Guard operations, and other general aviation operations.
The Department of Aviation thanks US Coast Guard-Sector Humboldt Bay, United Airlines, Avelo Airlines, and medical flight operators who partnered with the department to arrange this project’s schedule to minimize the impacts of this project for airport partners, operators, customers, and the community.
“We appreciate the community’s continued support while these much-needed upgrades to ACV are being made,” said Humboldt County Department of Aviation Director Cody Roggatz. “This project will benefit the community for decades to come.”
Funding for this project was provided thanks to the advocacy efforts of Congressman Jared Huffman, who helped secure a $13 million Airport Improvement Program grant through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) covering 90% of the project costs. The remaining 10% of the project costs will be funded by Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act Grant funding, which was previously provided by the FAA to the County of Humboldt.
