The FAA will award nearly $260 million in airport improvement grants this year under the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, consisting of 153 grants spread over 37 states. This includes a variety of improvements aimed at reducing the risk of runway incursions such as taxiway reconfigurations, enlarged runway safety areas, and improved lighting.
Among the projects funded are $2.2 million to Michigan’s Willow Run Airport (KYIP) to construct an 8,617-foot parallel taxiway to eliminate back-taxiing on the runway; $2 million to Wisconsin’s Dane County Regional Airport (KMSN) and $1.7 million to California’s San Bernardino International Airport (KSBD) to rehabilitate on-field roadways to allow vehicles to operate without entering aircraft movement areas; and $1.1 million to Alabama’s Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (KBHM) to improve the safety area for Runway 6/24.
Other major grants include $45 million for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW) to rehabilitate its 13,400-foot Runway 17R/35L and $18 million to Alaska’s Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (PASI) to expand its existing terminal building.
“We saw a record number of passengers fly during the recent holiday season, and we can expect increased demand for air travel to continue,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These investments from the Biden-Harris Administration are making it possible to modernize our country’s aging airport infrastructure to meet this demand today and ensure safe, efficient travel into the future.”