Contact: Media Relations
Phone: (512) 463-8588
 

April 13, 2009

 

Small Airports Benefit from Stimulus Funding

AUSTIN - Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials are ready to move forward with improvements to several general aviation airports around the state with funding from the economic stimulus program.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood recently announced that airports around the country will receive $258 million under the recently-enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Last month, as TxDOT moved to advance construction of road, bridge and transit projects funded through the ARRA, the Texas Transportation Commission gave staff approval to submit 10 aviation project proposals to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA approved four Texas projects totaling $12.6 million that will fund pavement improvements on runways and taxiways at:

  • Snyder Airport - Scurry County - $2 million;
  • Grayson County Airport - Denison - $ 6.8 million;
  • Sulphur Springs Airport - Hopkins County - $ 3 million: and
  • Brady–Curtis Field - McCulloch County - $ 800,000

"Supporting these reliever and general aviation airports will continue to yield large results for small urban and rural communities around the state," said Fred Underwood, Texas Transportation Commissioner. "They play a vital role in our transportation network."

Under ARRA, the Federal Aviation Administration received $1.1 billion to allocate to qualifying airports on a discretionary basis. That funding will be distributed based on a project priority system that addresses airport safety and security, infrastructure, runway safety, increased capacity, and mitigation of environmental impacts.

TxDOT assists cities and counties applying for, receiving and disbursing federal and state funds for reliever and general aviation airports included in the Texas Airport System Plan (TASP). The TASP, which includes 275 airports that serve the smaller communities of Texas, is one of the largest aviation systems in the nation.

Larger regional and municipal airports are funded directly from the FAA.

The Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining nearly 80,000 miles of road and for supporting aviation, rail and public transportation across the state. TxDOT and its 15,000 employees strive to empower local leaders to solve local transportation problems, and to use new financial tools, including tolling and public-private partnerships, to reduce congestion and pave the way for future economic growth while enhancing safety, improving air quality and preserving the value of the state's transportation assets. Find out more at www.txdot.gov.