The Federal Aviation Administration is allocating $608 million to upgrade airports across the country, making them safer and more accessible.
The money will be doled out to airports through the Airport Improvement Program. The AIP awards money for improvements to airport infrastructure such as "runways, taxiways, airport signage, airport lighting and airport markings,” the FAA said.
“In communities of all sizes, airports are vital to regional economies, sustaining jobs and getting people and goods where they need to go,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a may 12 news release. “These Airport Improvement Program grants will help make airports better, safer and more accessible, so they can better serve people in every community for decades to come.”
The first round of funding will be going to 441 airports across 46 states, the American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Grants will be awarded based on the project, and many grants have been awarded with safety being the main priority, which will result in many projects dedicated to making airports safer, the release said.
For example, Minneapolis-St. Paul International is getting $13.46 million so it can add taxiway lighting and make other improvements for safety on the runways, taxiways and aprons. Other airports, like the one in Buffalo, N.Y., and Pago Pago, American Samoa, will use the money to improve runways.
The $608 million comes in addition to the $20 billion that was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
