DOT Announces $31.2 Million in Infrastructure Grants to Four Alaska Airports

WASHINGTON,DC—US Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $478 million in airport infrastructure grants, the fourth allotment of the total $3.18 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airports across the United States, including more than $30 million for airports in Kotlik, Anchorage, Sitka, and Juneau.

“This significant investment in airport improvements in Alaska will fund construction and rehabilitation projects that will help maintain high levels of safety in US aviation,” said Secretary Chao.

The Alaska airport grants include the following awards:

• $11.4 million to the Kotlik Airport to expand a service road, reconstruct runway lighting, repair a taxiway, apron and runway and install miscellaneous navigational aids, repair a runway and an apron.

• $328,125 to the Merrill Field in Anchorage to conduct a study to determine alternatives for runway incursion risk reduction measures.

• $500,000 to the Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport in Sitka to conduct an environmental study.

• $18.9 million to Juneau International Airport to repair a taxiway and build a new taxiway and to purchase a generator.

The FAA will award grants to 232 airports in forty-three states, including American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. Selected projects include runway reconstruction and rehabilitation, construction of firefighting facilities, and the maintenance of taxiways, aprons, and terminals. The construction and equipment supported by these grants will enhance safety and capacity while promoting economic growth in the regions served by each airport.

According to the FAA’s most recent economic analysis, US civil aviation accounts for $1.6 trillion in total economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs.

Airports can receive a certain amount of AIP entitlement funding each year based on activity levels and project needs. If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding.