Washington OKs More Than $374M to Improve Airports Nationwide

The Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration building in Washington on July 21, 2007. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on July 26 more than $347 million in grants to improve airports across the nation.

The projects target airfields, safety efforts, and other improvements at 299 airports in 46 states and American Samoa. They include the construction of new and improved airport facilities, runway and taxiway repairs, airfield lighting and signage maintenance, and funding equipment for operating and maintaining airports.

“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to modernize our aviation infrastructure to make it safer, more resilient, and more efficient,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

“The funding we’re announcing today will allow hundreds of airports to make critical improvements that will benefit passengers for years to come.”

The current projects are the third round of grants for the Airport Improvement Project, which receives roughly $3.3 billion in funding every year.

“These grants will help support our nation’s airports as they make improvements to enhance safety, efficiency, and the needs of travelers for a better experience,” FAA Associate Administrator for Airports Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E. said in a statement.

Airport Improvement Grants

The hundreds of improvement projects include efforts to improve runway and taxiway safety, construct new buildings, and provide new aircraft lighting.

The Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama will receive $6.9 million to improve safety by rehabilitating and reconstructing multiple taxiways.

Fitiuta Airport in American Samoa received a $2 million grant to fix the pavement on runway 12/30.

Taxiway E2 at Huntsville International-Carl T. Jones Field in Alabama will be shifted by 200 feet, and pavement and lighting on runway 18/36 will be improved with a $12.8 million grant.

A $6.3 million grant will rehabilitate taxiways P and EC at Denver International Airport in Colorado.

With $4.6 million, the Central Terminal building at Florida’s Miami International Airport will increase capacity and efficiency.

Forest City Municipal Airport in Iowa will receive $1.4 million to renew 5,200 feet of pavement at runway 15/33.

Runway 4/22 at Driggs/Reed Memorial Airport in Idaho will be shifted, and taxiway A will be improved with a $10.4 million allocation to “bring the airport into conformity with current FAA standards.”

Roughly $10 million was granted to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky to improve safety by reconstructing the pavement on taxiway B.

Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts will see $15.5 million to enhance safety and restore pavement on taxiway N.

A $7.2 million grant will help Oklahoma’s Stillwater Regional Airport construct a new terminal building to accommodate more passengers.

Greenbrier Valley Airport in West Virginia will receive $6.5 million to restore runway 4/22.