Yavapai County Approves $3.4 Million in Sedona Airport Repairs
Marcus Whitfield
SEDONA, Ariz. — The Sedona Airport is set to receive more than $3.4 million in repairs to its infield drainage system and its helicopter parking apron, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved during its August 19 meeting.
The funding, drawn mainly from the Federal Aviation Administration, will pay for $2,869,848 in infield repairs and $598,715 in repairs to the 4,400-square-yard Helicopter Six-Pack Parking Apron. The board accepted a $2,726,356 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Airport Infrastructure Grant from the FAA, along with $568,779 from that same grant for the helicopter apron. Both allotments are expected to cover about 95 percent of the cost of their respective projects.
The board was set to approve J. Banicki Construction and Dibble Engineering as the two contractors for the infield work during its September 2 meeting, according to the Sedona Red Rock News.
Airport General Manager Ed Rose, who has led the airport since 2020, said the repairs are a top priority because of safety concerns.
"No. 1, it improves the safety of the Sedona Airport, and when safety is improved, then the users tend not to be scared off," Rose said. "So we'll have more visitors to pay attention to businesses in town."
The board packet describes the infield problem in detail. The infields at Sedona Airport are currently depressed, and drainage is conveyed through a series of culverts beneath each connector taxiway. Over time, erosion has caused significant rutting, slope failures, and ponding. The existing infield conditions no longer comply with FAA criteria for slopes and grading within the Runway Safety Area, the packet says, creating significant safety concerns.
"It's a safety hazard, and somebody's going to get seriously hurt, or there's going to be a fatality there," Rose said. He said he brought the Arizona Department of Transportation and the FAA to the site to see the problem firsthand. "I got them to realize that this is an issue, that it's within the runway safety area and it needs to be addressed."
Rose noted that this is the third attempt to fund the project. The first two times, the bids exceeded the available funds, so the work could not be executed.
The helicopter apron has been held together for three years with mastic, a crack sealer containing a fibrous additive. Rose said the material has kept the surface intact, but "it's not self-healing," and it continues to ravel.
Rose said he is hopeful both projects will begin before the end of the year, or "there'll be a spring startup." He did not have an estimated start and end date for construction.
During the infield drainage work, Rose said, some runway closures will be required from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. until the project is complete, to provide minimal disruption to traffic. He also expects minimal disruption to the neighborhoods below Airport Mesa because construction will take place at night.
Helicopter tour operators that occasionally park on the six-pack will be redirected to the southwest end of the airport's west ramp. The heavy-heli pad will be reserved for medical or firefighting crews.
Rose said additional drainage improvements on the southernmost infield island are anticipated in the future as part of larger Runway Safety Area improvements, which include a planned taxiway extension.
"I don't have any numbers yet, because that has just gone through preliminary community engagement," Rose said. The process will be to move the environmental assessment into the five-year capital program, then phase the improvements spelled out in the focus planning study, including the taxiway extension, modifications to the safety area, and an engineered material arresting system on that end of the runway.