The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has announced the awarding of 12 Airport Improvement Program grants totaling more than $4.8 million in state funds to support airport safety and improvement projects. These grants, which leverage federal funding and airport contributions, will support a total of $31.4 million worth of work.
“New Jersey’s public-use airports are an important piece of the State’s complex and diverse transportation system,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “General Aviation is a vital economic engine that supports more than 18,000 well-paying jobs in New Jersey and contributes $1.7 billion to the state’s economy each year. Supporting these facilities through state and federal grants helps promote economic growth.”
Grants are awarded through a competitive process, with an emphasis on projects designed to enhance safety, remove obstructions, rehabilitate existing facilities and equipment, and make capital improvements. Projects receiving funds this year include taxiway construction, lighting improvements, de-icing containment facility construction, and safety and security improvements at nine airports in seven counties throughout the state.
Eight grants will be funded solely through NJDOT’s Transportation Trust Fund and Airport Safety Fund, with the state providing 90 percent of the eligible cost and the remaining 10 percent covered by the airport owner. Four grants will receive 90 percent funding through the Federal Aviation Administration’s matching grant program, with the state and the airport owner each contributing five percent.
The Murphy Administration has invested more than $10.1 million in New Jersey’s general aviation airports to date, leveraging an additional $38.2 million in federal grants and $2.9 million from airport owners, for a total of $51.2 million to support New Jersey’s General Aviation Airports and aeronautics infrastructure.
