WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation will award $11.36 million in airport safety and infrastructure grants to 19 airports in Louisiana. This investment in Louisiana’s airports is part of a $520.5 million national investment in America’s airports that was announced today by Secretary Chao.
“This $520.5 million in federal support to airports across the country will help to keep our nation’s airports in good shape and make air travel a better experience for passengers," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
With this announcement, the Trump Administration has invested a historic $11.42 billion in more than two thousand American airports across the United States for safety and infrastructure improvements since January 2017.
The grants to airports in Louisiana include the following awards:
* $500,400 to Morehouse Memorial Airport in Bastrop to remove obstructions in order to support an RNAV approach.
* $454,021 to Le Gros Memorial Airport in Crowley for erosion control and to improve airport drainage.
* $135,000 to Union Parish Airport in Farmerville to remove airport obstructions.
* $150,000 to South Lafourche Airport in Galliano for lighting and to remove airport obstructions.
* $315,000 to Houma-Terrebonne Airport for taxiway reconstruction.
* $103,500 to Jena Airport to remove airport obstructions.
* $356,700 to Jennings Airport for runway and taxiway sealing.
* $72,000 to Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles for taxiway lighting rehab.
* $2 million to Lake Charles Regional Airport for terminal building construction.
* $398,000 to Leesville Airport for runway and taxiway sealing.
* $58,500 to C.E. Rusty Williams Airport for apron rehabilitation.
* $247,500 to Hart Airport in Many from apron rehab.
* $2.64 million to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to construct a taxiway and to extend a taxiway.
* $1.98 million to Minden Airport to reconstruct runway lighting and for runway rehabilitation.
* $165,000 to Natchitoches Regional Airport for runway and taxiway reconstruction.
* $552,819 to Kelly-Dumas Airport in Oak Grove for taxiway construction.
* $392,000 to Ahart Field in Opelousas to install perimeter fencing.
* $135,000 to John H. Hooks Jr. Memorial Airport in Rayville for runway rehabilitation.
* $700,000 to Slidell Airport for apron rehabilitation.
The Administration not only supports infrastructure through funding - it is making it possible to deliver these much-needed improvements more quickly. The Department is working hard to streamline the approval process, cut unnecessary red tape and reduce unnecessary, duplicative regulations that do not contribute to safety.
These investments and reforms are especially timely because the U.S. economy is surging. Employers have added more than 7 million jobs since January 2017. To kick off the new decade, a robust 225,000 American jobs were added in January 2020 and the unemployment rate is still a remarkable 3.6 percent-the lowest in 50 years.
Aviation is an important part of that growth. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. civil aviation supports more than 5% of U.S. gross domestic product; $1.6 trillion in economic activity; and nearly 11 million jobs.
“America’s airports provide a gateway to the world for our citizens while at the same time delivering first impressions of the United States to visitors from abroad," said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. “It’s in our national interest to make them the crown jewel in our transportation system. The Airport Improvement Program allows us to do just that."
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
