Jan. 8 (UPI) — The Biden administration continued to tie up loose ends with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by announcing $332 million in grants for 171 projects in 32 states on Wednesday.
The grants targeted modernizing airports, from planning, development, sustainability, terminal expansion, baggage-system upgrades, runway-safety enhancements and noise compatibility, the Department of Transportation said.
Outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the grants will go to address long-standing travel needs at various airports throughout the country.
“These investments – some already completed and many more still underway – ensure the traveling public will have safer and more accessible and efficient airports receiving funding,” Buttigieg said in a statement.
Shannetta Griffin, the FAA associate administrator for Airports, called the grants an investment in “critical updates and improvements” that will help ensure the safe and efficient travel of users.
The Transportation Department gave several examples of the projects funded by the grants, such as an $18.3 million new taxiway and bridge at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; an expanded terminal at the Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport in Alaska for $18.8 million; and a new taxiway at the Tallahassee International Airport for $6.7 million.
Other improvements include a $3.9 million terminal expansion at the Hector International Airport in North Dakota; new navigational aids and a taxiway at the Telluride Regional Airport in Colorado at $2.6 million; an apron expansion at the Ruston Regional Airport in Louisiana for $324,000 to bring it into FAA compliance; and resealing the existing taxiway and runway at the Geraldine Airport in Montana for $177,840.
