The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded $243.7 million in airport infrastructure grants nationwide to improve runways and taxiways and expand or build terminals.
In announcing the selections on Jan. 30, the FAA said its latest batch of awards includes 153 grants in 37 states. The funds come from the Investment in Infrastructure and Employment Law. [View list of grants here.]
The largest grant is for $45 million to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to rehabilitate a section of runway to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and minimize foreign object debris.
Another large runway grant will go to Ontario International in California, which received $15.2 million to rehabilitate a section of runway and rebuild part of a taxiway.
Some of the airfield-related projects will go toward runway improvements to reduce the risk of incursions, the FAA said. Others will help finance the reconfiguration of taxiways.
A dozen grants will help finance airport terminal projects. They include Sitka Rocky Gutierrez in Alaska, which will receive $18 million to expand its existing terminal by 18,000 square feet.
Also on the list is Des Moines International in Iowa, which received $5.5 million to build a new 295,000-square-foot terminal that will include six gates.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement that demand for air travel is expected to increase, adding that the grants “are making it possible to modernize our nation’s aging airport infrastructure to meet this demand today and ensure safe and efficient travel in the future.”
Most of the grant funds will go toward construction projects, but about $2.1 million will help purchase rescue and firefighting vehicles.
