by Chip Long

Executive Director, Port of Orcas

At the Port’s September 2025 regular meeting, your commissioners approved a motion to formally accept the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding award and engage Granite Construction in Bellingham for our ORS pavement rehabilitation initiative. This marks an important step in the most significant port project in decades — but first, a little history.

Our existing runway was paved in 1986 — almost 40 years ago. At the time, its expected design life was 20 years, but with moderate island temperatures and regular maintenance, we’ve doubled that projection. Now, however, filling cracks and sealing are no longer enough. Washington State Department of Transportation’s tracking of our Pavement Condition Index shows the runway’s condition is declining more rapidly, and we’re reaching the end of its useful life. Without significant rehabilitation, we would soon trigger the need for a full runway rebuild.

That takes us back to the Master Plan exercise completed a few years ago. You’ll recall that generally every 10-20 years, airports conduct such a plan to evaluate how best to meet the current and future demands of the community while ensuring federal, state and local dollars are spent wisely. These plans typically present options ranging from maintaining existing facilities to major reconstruction or expansion. Most communities accept funding for expansion. But our island community made it clear: We value the passenger, medical and economic benefits of a well-run airport — but we want to keep it the size it is.

With that in mind, your Port commissioners entered a period of close collaboration with the FAA, searching for a solution that met federal compliance requirements while respecting island priorities. We learned that if we allowed the PCI to drop too low, FAA standards would require a full rebuild — including increasing the runway’s length and width. By acting now with a resurfacing project, however, we can preserve the existing footprint.

That’s why, in partnership with the FAA, your commissioners embraced the “Better, Not Bigger” solution: resurfacing (not rebuilding) the runway, taxiway and apron with 2 inches of new asphalt. This locks in the current runway dimensions for the foreseeable future.

You may be wondering: Won’t this be expensive? It is, but timing is on our side. The airport has AIP, or Airport Improvement Program, and expiring BIL, or Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funds available. Combined with state grants, these reduce the Port’s share of costs to just 2.5%- 5%, depending on state contributions.

What’s next? Repaving is scheduled for late August and September of 2026. Between now and then, we are working closely with the FAA, WSDOT, San Juan County, Granite Construction and Precision Approach Engineering to secure permits, refine the timeline and coordinate logistics.

In short, this is a major and necessary improvement – without changing the footprint of the airport. With this project, we remain committed to making your airport Better, Not Bigger. Your questions are welcome. We’ll continue to communicate often throughout this project.