Jackson Hole Airport makeover will be exercise in pain makes gain
Can't say it enough: Airport will be closed to all flights April 11-June 27
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Perhaps you are a local trying to book a return fight for spring break and finding nothing available to JAC. Hmm. Or maybe you are looking to finally book that flight to your cousin’s wedding in early June and for some reason, nothing is showing up as open on your Delta app.
The Jackson Hole Airport is shutting down for two and a half months this spring. All one runway of it.
In fact, one of the hottest web searches right now is: “What is the nearest major airport to Jackson Hole?”
It’s not easy to replace the busiest airport in Wyoming but for travelers may want to consider the two international hubs—Denver (DEN) and Salt Lake City (SLC)—and rent a car from there. To get any closer to Jackson, you’ll have to look at flights landing and taking off in Idaho Falls (IDA), Riverton (RIW), Pocatello (PIH), Casper (CPR), Cody (WYS), or Rock Spring (RKS).
And don’t delay securing that rental car. They are going to be extremely hard to find this spring/summer.
The closure is due to the fact that the Jackson Hole Airport has just the one runway (1/19) for take-off and landing. The 6,300-foot strip is being completely resurfaced—a process undertaken by most airports every 25 years or so. JAC has some 50 years on its one and only runway. Since it was constructed in the late-1970s, it has been rehabilitated four times.
The project is budgeted between $25-35 million, all of that federal money. The 78-day construction event will take place 24 hours a day 7 days a week between the first (April 11) and last day (June 27) of closure.
“Every 20-25 years a major rebuild is necessary to any runway. We regret the closure, and it will likely impact a number of travelers, but it’s necessary,” said airport director Jim Elwood.
How the airport will do it
Runway reconstruction will be completed in 3 phases and project engineers have estimated JAC will be able to reuse 90-95% of the current material for the reconstruction. This helps to reduce the number of truck trips to/from the airport during all phases of the runway construction.
Phase I will include preliminary work for staging the entire runway project. This work has been completed.
Phase 2 includes the 78-day runway closure and will take place from April 11 through June 27. There will be no flight operations at JAC or Jackson Hole Aviation during the 78-day closure. The National Forest Service Helitack Base will remain operational throughout the closure.
During Phase 2, runway material will be excavated, and a new subbase will placed and paved. Taxiways’ A4 and A1 will also be reconstructed during this time as well as a portion of Taxiway A2. Crews will be working 24/7 during the 78-day closure to complete the project on schedule. Commercial air service to/from JAC will resume on June 28, 2022.
Phase 3 begins in July 2022 and will be completed by the end of August 2022. Phase 3 will take place during a 30-day period for runway grooving and striping. The runway will be open to aircraft during this time and all grooving and striping will take place at night.
What else the airport is doing
The JH Airport will also be undergoing several other changes and improvements over the next year. Work has already begun on a TSA Checkpoint remodel. That is expected to wrap up June 27. The airport’s only restaurant (Jedediah’s at the Airport) will be expanded to twice its current size. Completion anticipated in November 2022.
Two additional boarding gates will also be added bringing the total to 11. A new marketplace will be added in the baggage claim area. Work on entrance vestibule and backflow and an expansion of the ticketing counter has already been completed.
