Grand County advances airport road, runway repairs, trail design funding

Grand County moved to fix the first thing many Moab visitors see at Canyonlands Regional Airport: the road from Highway 191 to the terminal area. Commissioners voted 4-3 on April 7 to approve the grant application for the entrance-road project after Airport Director Steve Gleason warned that the pavement’s underlying base has failed, leaving the surface sinking, cracking and even forming a sinkhole near the snow-removal and aircraft rescue building.

That repair package is estimated at about $1.16 million. The Federal Aviation Administration would cover $1.1 million, while Grand County would put up a $57,895 local match. For travelers, guides and rafting crews who use the airport as a launch point into the Four Corners, the work matters because the access road is the front door for flying into Moab, and the county said putting off the job would only make it more expensive later.

The commission also approved a separate pavement-preservation grant for the runway, taxiway connectors and part of the apron. That vote passed 5-1, with Mary McGann abstaining and Trish Hedin opposed. The project is capped at $1 million, with the FAA covering $950,000 and the county contributing up to $50,000. Gleason said the preservation work was overdue and should extend the life of pavement that has not been preserved in well over five years. County officials said the work is expected to happen in the fall and be phased to reduce disruption at the airport.

The same meeting also sent $4,950 toward specialized downhill trail design for Phase 2 of the Mud Springs Trail System, a reminder that airport infrastructure and trail building still move together in Grand County’s recreation economy. That matters for spring and summer planning, when visitors often stack a flight into Moab with trail days, river launches and shuttle logistics around Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.

The airport decisions also fit into a bigger air-service picture. Grand County has said Canyonlands Regional Airport is in an Essential Air Service cycle, with four carriers submitting proposals after public input in February 2026, and the county later recommending SkyWest Airlines. The county’s airport page says enplanements were 20,093 in 2021 under SkyWest’s codeshare service, then fell to 10,625 in 2024 after service shifted to a non-codeshare carrier. A 2023 airport layout plan update and related environmental work also considered widening the runway, displaced arrival thresholds and a possible change in airport reference code, changes that HMMH said could help open the door to future jet service between Moab and Salt Lake City or Denver.