U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced recently that the Department of Transportation will award $485 million in airport infrastructure grants to 108 airports in 48 states and the U.S. Territories of Guam and Virgin Islands. With this announcement, the Trump Administration has invested a historic $10.8 billion to more than two thousand airports across the United States for safety and infrastructure improvements since January 2017.
“The robust economy is enabling more passengers to travel by air so this Administration is investing billions of dollars in America’s airports which will address safer airport operations, fewer airport delays, and greater ease of travel for air travelers,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
The following airports are among the 108 airports receiving Airport Improvement Program grants:
- San Jose International Airport will be awarded $10 million for an aircraft rescue and firefighting building
- Tampa International Airport will be awarded $6 million to improve its terminal building
- Indianapolis International Airport will be awarded $4.25 million to rehabilitate a runway
- New Orleans International Airport will be awarded $7 million to extend a taxiway
- Gerald R. Ford International in Grand Rapids, Michigan will be awarded $5 million to rehabilitate its terminal building
- Asheville Regional Airport will be awarded $10 million to rehabilitate its terminal
- Cleveland International Airport will be awarded $4.25 million to rehabilitate a runway
- Wilmington International Airport in Delaware will be awarded $3 million for runway rehabilitation
- Portland International Airport in Oregon will be awarded $4 million to rehabilitate a taxiway
The Department reports that is working hard to streamline the approval process, cut unnecessary red tape and reduce unnecessary, duplicative regulations that do not contribute to safety.
These agency says that these investments and reforms are especially timely because the U.S. economy is robust, growing by 2.8 percent in the first half of 2019. Employers have added more than 6 million jobs since January 2017. The unemployment rate is still a remarkable 3.6 percent—the lowest in 50 years.
Aviation is an important part of that growth and 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.
See a complete listing of grants on the FAA website.
