27 Jun Tri-Cities Airport Awarded $10 Million in Federal Grants

The Tri-Cities Airport was awarded more than $10 million in grant money from the US Department of Transportation (DOT).  Specifically, the airport received a grant for $757,251 to update its Airport Master Plan and $9,419,121 to relocate Taxiway Alpha.

“These funds will allow the airport to provide important safety upgrades as well as properly prepare for the future,” said stated Buck Taft, Director of the Tri-Cities Airport. “The airport is excited to immediately put the grant money to good use investing in the airport and creating local jobs.”

The Airport Master Plan is a detailed study that provides a 20-year look at future airport projects.  For Tri-Cities Airport, the plan will be completed by national aviation engineering and planning firm Mead & Hunt. In fact, completion of these recent projects means the airport has concluded the majority of the projects on its current Airport Master Plan more than ten years early. “We developed our latest Master Plan in 2012,” continued Taft. “Thanks to federal funding, an economic upswing and a community committed to using this airport, we were able to complete or have planned all of our major projects.  It’s now time to step back and think about what the next twenty years could bring.”

Work on the Taxiway Alpha project should begin in July. The airport will relocate and rehabilitate the taxiway to bring it into line with current FAA design standards. A similar effort was undertaken to relocate Taxiway Delta in 2013. The rehab and relocation of the taxiway is expected to take more than a year, without any impact to the traveling public. J-U-B Engineers will handle the project management, and Inland Asphalt Company will perform the work. Both firms have offices in the Tri-Cities area.