Building Back – FAA First-Year Airport Funding $2.89B

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $2.89 billion made available by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that barely past with the usual Republican opposition last Now 3,075 airports around the nation will have money that can be invested in runways, taxiways, safety and sustainability projects, as well as terminal, airport-transit connections and roadway projects.

Many of these enhancements are crucial for automakers, suppliers and millions of workers as just in time delivery practices have collided with the non-vaccinated covid resurgence and the semiconductor shortage. The money will come from the Airport Infrastructure Grant program, one of three new aviation programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law provides $15 billion over five years. The FAA estimates the backlog of airport modernization and safety projects totals $43.6 billion. For an interactive map and listing of funding for individual airports, see www.faa.gov/bil/airport-infrastructure.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has given us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build safer and more sustainable airports that connect individuals to jobs and communities to the world,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this new funding, urban, regional and rural airports across the country now can get to work on projects that have waited for years, modernizing their infrastructure and building a better America.”

According to the White House: This Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. The legislation will help ease inflationary pressures and strengthen supply chains by making long overdue improvements for our nation’s ports, airports, rail, and roads. It will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come. Combined with the President’s Build Back Framework, it will add on average 1.5 million jobs per year for the next 10 years.

Airports in 50 states and five territories are the recipients of this first round of funding. Some of the funding at airports include:

  • San Diego International, CA:                      $24.2M
  • Denver International, CO:                           $59.1M
  • Great Falls International, MT:                      $1.89M
  • Asheville Regional, NC:                              $4.3M
  • Yeager Airport, WV:                                     $2.1M
  • Unalaska Airport, AK:                                   $1 M
  • Luis Munoz Marin International, San Juan  $11.2M

About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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