U.S. Department of Transportation secretary Elaine Chao has announced the Federal Aviation Administration will award $282.6 million in airport infrastructure grants to 67 airports in 29 states across the United States as part of the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP).
“The Airport Improvement Program helps to maintain our aviation infrastructure and supports safety, capacity, security and environmental improvements,” said Chao. “This is an important investment in these airports and the economic vitality of their respective communities.”
The airport grant program funds various types of airport infrastructure projects, including runways, taxiways, and airport signage, lighting, and markings, all of which help to create thousands of jobs.
U.S. airports receiving grants include $28.9 million to Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Oxford, Conn., which will be used for runway repairs; $5.4 million to New Castle Airport in Wilmington, Del., to fix taxiways; and $26.1 million to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Metairie, La., to construct a new terminal apron.
To date this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced more than 1,428 new grants to nearly 1,210 airports for a total of $2.3 billion. These grants will provide funds for 581 runway projects and 490 taxiway projects that are important to the safety and efficiency of the nation’s system of airports.
Airports are entitled to a certain amount of AIP funding each year, based on passenger volume. If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, then the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding.
In additional airport construction news, the Denver City Council previously approved a $1.8 billion public-private partnership for the $650 million Jeppesen Terminal renovation and 34-year concession management deal at Denver International Airport. Ferrovial will lead the P3 team, which will relocate and modernize security checkpoints, renovate ticketing areas to include more self-check-in kiosks and build a new entry atrium.
