Local airport leaders discuss Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding - WJHL-TV News Channel 11
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award about $59 million to airports across Tennessee, and local airports are in the process of deciding how they should spend the funds they are allocated.
The funding is being made available across the United States through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Locally, the funding will go towards improvements for airports. Some areas the money could be spent on include upgrades to runways, taxiways, as well as sustainability and safety projects.
“Maintaining the infrastructure here at the airport, expanding the terminal so that we have plenty of room for all the passengers we need to get through, those are incredibly expensive,” Tri-Cities Airport Executive Director Gene Cossey said. “No airport could build all of those things without the money from the FAA.”
Cossey said a couple of possible ideas for this round of funding or other grant funds include rebuilding a taxiway and expanding the airport’s security checkpoint.
Tri-Cities Airport is expected to receive a little over $2 million during the first year.
In an average year before COVID-19, the Tri-Cities Airport had about 500,000 passengers coming and going.
“It’ll benefit the people that fly through the airport,” Cossey said. “Anytime we can improve the airport and increase the capacity, it makes it easier to travel in and out of the airport, and that’s always our goal.”
Johnson County Airport Manager Dave Garris said the county’s airport sees about 3,000 aircraft a year for personal, travel, and business trips.
“It’ll be a tremendous help,” Garris said. “The county, of course, like every other county, has taken a pretty big hit with sales tax revenue during the last pandemic stage.”
Johnson County’s airport is slated to receive $159,000 next year.
Garris said the airport is considering adding runway lighting, a parallel taxiway, and a glide slope that needs to be replaced.
“My engineering firm is doing the research on how we can divvy out these funds in the most beneficial way for the airport,” Garris said. “There’s basically a team diving into it as we speak that is finding out the best way to utilize these funds.”
Both airports said that they are still early in the planning stage and looking into what exactly they will be allowed to spend their allocated funds on.
Tri-Cities Airport officials expect to receive the money sometime between July and early Fall 2022.
For a full breakdown of what airports will receive funds and how much, click here.
source: https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/local-airport-leaders-discuss-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funding/
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