The Eric Marcus Municipal Airport in Ajo has been awarded federal grants to make what officials say are much needed improvements to the airfield.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the procurement of the grants totaling more than $830,000, and match it by up to $37,000.
The two federal grants, worth $390,554 and $443,000 respectively, are to upgrade the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) and Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL), and to upgrade the airports electrical systems and vault to bring them up to current code and aviation standards.
Airport manager Anna Steiner said the facility had been neglected and fallen into disrepair.
“Things just have been not maintained,” Steiner said. “And now that there's more staff to focus and we see the problems, I see the problems, I've been putting in for federal and state aviation funding. And we've been very successful.”
The Eric Marcus Municipal Airport is owned and operated by Pima County. The airport opened in 1942 as Ajo Army Air Field, serving as a flying and gunnery range, before being transferred to the county in 1949.
Steiner became the airport’s first manager after an organizational restructure in 2023, and started applying for grant funding for airfield rehabilitation.
“There's a lot of possibility for the airport, but it is remote and it has not been maintained,” Steiner said. “So it's lost a lot of its luster and usability.”
Steiner says the electrical upgrades pave the way for potential future improvements, like a weather station and fuel farm.
Steiner said she believes the airport could bring economic development to the area.
“In my opinion, it's bringing the airport into a safe and viable amenity, and then people can figure out economic development angles to capitalize off of it being there,” Steiner said. “But right now, it's not where it needs to be. So the goal is to try to bring it as safe and functional as possible.”
Steiner said she has been slowly putting new life into the airport.
In 2025, the runway was completely repaved. Before the project, the pavement quality was rated at the lowest index possible before being rendered unusable.
“So it's baby steps, trying to get it to a point where you could tie it into an economic development with other sources,” Steiner said.
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The investment goes toward modernizing the around 55 mile long stretch between the Lukeville-Sonoyta border crossing into Arizona and Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.
