The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday announced that five additional airport projects have been selected for $9 million funding.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds became available because of low bids on airport projects nationwide. “Earlier ARRA projects came in under budget and these savings can now be applied to other projects,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
“Transportation and infrastructure are the foundation of our economy. These airport projects are putting people to work in good-paying jobs across the country.”
“These additional Recovery Act dollars are giving airports that serve a wide range of communities the chance to make needed improvements that wouldn’t otherwise be possible,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said at an event celebrating the completion of a $4.9 million Recovery Act terminal project at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia.
“Safe and modernized airports will benefit these local economies for years to come,” Babbitt added.
Yeager Airport will also receive an additional $2.58 million of the newly available ARRA funds to make additional terminal improvements, including a pedestrian bridge which will help passengers access the airport more safely.
Four other airports will also receive additional Recovery Act grants for construction and rehabilitation projects: MBS International Airport (Midland-Bay City-Saginaw, Michigan), Killeen Skylark Field (Killeen, Texas), Burlington International Airport (Burlington, Vermont), and Avi Suquilla Airport (Parker, Arizona.
An additional ARRA grant of up to $3.39 million will expedite the completion of an airport terminal reconstruction project at the MBS International Airport. The grant will be used to construct the roof, window systems and the concrete floor. An initial ARRA grant of $11.6 million funded the construction of passenger loading bridges, an access road and the relocation of navigational aids.
A $2.37 million ARRA grant is the first the Killeen Skylark Field has received. The project will rehabilitate runway 1-19 and the parallel taxiway. The pavement has deteriorated and this project is necessary to extend the useful life of the pavement.
An additional ARRA grant of $452,100 will rehabilitate and realign a critical taxiway to reduce the risk of runway incursions at Burlington International Airport. An original ARRA grant supported the rehabilitation of two additional taxiways.
An original ARRA grant supported the rehabilitation of over 70,000 square yards of pavement on two taxiways at Avi Suquilla Airport. This additional ARRA grant of $310,000 will fund a second phase of taxiway rehabilitation.
Nationwide, over $1.3 billion in Recovery Act money has been made available for both airport improvement projects and air traffic control facility and system upgrades. These Recovery Act grants have been distributed to airports that serve commercial passengers, cargo and general aviation.
