U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation will award $520.5 million in airport infrastructure grants to 287 airports in 41 states. With this announcement, the Trump Administration has invested $11.4 billion to more than two thousand airports across the United States for safety and infrastructure improvements since January 2017.
“This $520.5 million in federal support to airports across the country will help to keep our nation’s airports in good shape and make air travel a better experience for passengers,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
On February 20, Secretary Chao announced the following airports are among the 287 airports receiving Airport Improvement Program grants:
• General Mitchell International Airport – $600,000 to rehabilitate a runway
• State of Wisconsin – $15.5 million to help fund projects at airports across the state of Wisconsin
• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport – $24 million to construct a taxiway
• Reno-Tahoe International Airport – $31.7 million to reconstruct a runway
• Portland International Airport (Maine) – $5.6 million to construct and taxiway and rehabilitate a taxiway
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport – $65 million to construct a runway
• Des Moines International Airport – $1.8 million to reconstruct a runway and construct a service road
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. civil aviation supports more than 5% of U.S. gross domestic product, $1.6 trillion in economic activity, and nearly 11 million jobs.
“America’s airports provide a gateway to the world for our citizens while at the same time delivering first impressions of the United States to visitors from abroad,” said Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Steve Dickson. “It’s in our national interest to make them the crown jewel in our transportation system. The Airport Improvement Program allows us to do just that.”
Chao later announced (February 24) $12.2 million in funding from the Small Community Air Service Development Program to help 18 communities in 18 states develop their own solutions to local air service needs. The Department received 57 applications from 30 states.
Since the inception of the program, the Department has issued more than 400 grants, helping communities develop projects tailored to their own air service needs. Grants are used to provide financial incentives to carriers, conduct studies on the possibilities of expanded service, and carry out marketing programs to promote existing local service, as well as address other challenges small communities and their airports may experience.
The communities receiving grant awards this year are:
Tuscaloosa, Alabama ($750,000); Yuma, Arizona ($775,000); Chico, California ($500,000); Grand Junction, Colorado ($950,000); Athens, Georgia ($750,000); Dubuque, Iowa ($775,000); Twin Falls, Idaho ($900,000); Lake Charles, Louisiana ($200,000); Rochester, Minnesota ($750,000); Columbia, Missouri ($800,000); Greenville, North Carolina ($750,000); Atlantic City, New Jersey ($400,000); Roswell, New Mexico ($750,000); North Bend, Oregon ($750,000); Erie, Pennsylvania ($292,000); Abilene, Texas ($1,000,000); St. George, Utah ($370,000); and Pullman, Washington ($780,000).
Read more at the Department of Transportation
This story was updated on February 25 to include the funding for small communities.
