The Kotzebue Airport Safety Area Improvement Project in Kotzebue was brought to a halt after the discovery of a human hipbone while excavating for a new sewer line at the project on Sunday.

Archaeologists examined the partial human remains taken from the site and determined that the bone, which was dug from an area that had previously disturbed, was quite old. That news was welcome as it means that the $30 million project funded by the FAA and the State of Alaska will get back underway very soon.

The remains, thought to be pre-contact, will be re-interred at the local cemetery in Kotzebue in collaboration with the Native Village of Kotzebue.

The project in the community of Kotzebue, with its estimated population of 3,200, is expected to be completed by the end of November. The project has been in the works for several years and is being undertaken to increase the safety area for the runway, divert a sewer line and road and relocate the lagoon channel.