Congressman Pete Visclosky announced today that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $472,819 to Michigan City Municipal/Phillips Field Airport and $410,700 to the Griffith-Merrillville Airport.
“Investment in Northwest Indiana’s regional transportation network creates jobs and enhances our position as an attractive place to work and live.” Congressman Visclosky said. “I appreciate the efforts at Michigan City/Phillips Field and Griffith-Merrillville Airports to secure this important funding.”
Funds allotted to the Michigan City Municipal/Phillips Field Airport will be used to replace approximately 1.5 miles of perimeter fencing, supplanting shorter fences with a ten-foot wildlife fence. This sort of barrier is recommended for airports in heavily forested areas, as it is designed to keep wildlife off of runways.
“I would like to thank our federal and state officials for assisting us in taking this next progressive step in creating a safer environment for aircraft traffic here on our airfield,” said Michigan City Airport Manager Jessica Ward.
Griffith-Merrillville Airport’s grant will be used to continue the ongoing effort to extend its parallel taxiway. This safety feature, once completed, will eliminate the need for aircraft to backtrack on the active runway.
“This FAA Airport Improvement Program grant will help to greatly enhance the safety of operations at the Griffith-Merrillville Airport by allowing us to finalize the engineering and acquire the property we need to complete the west taxiway connection to our terminal area,” said Griffith-Merrillville Airport Manager Craig Anderson.
The 2012 Indiana Airport’s Economic Impact Study indicates that Griffith-Merrillville Airport and Michigan City Municipal/Phillips Field each have an estimated economic impact of over $50 million annually.