Miss. airports to get FAA grants

Fifteen airports along the Gulf Coast’s I-10 regional corridor will receive 16 airport infrastructure grants totaling $34.5M from the Federal Aviation Administration. They were among 358 grants awarded to 327 airports in 46 states and the Pacific Islands announced June 24 by the FAA. The agency said the $495M in grants is the second allotment of the total $3.18B in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for U.S. airports. Along the Gulf Coast, grants, from highest to lowest were: Eglin AFB/Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Fla. ($11,527,654, expand apron, expand terminal building); Lakefront, New Orleans ($8,505,000, rehabilitate runway 18R/36L); Lafayette (La.) Regional/Paul Fournet Field ($6,449,350, reconstruct apron); Mobile (Ala.) Regional ($2,361,754, rehabilitate taxiway); Mobile Downtown ($1,350,000, update airport master plan study, and $822,207, acquire equipment, rehabilitate runway 14/32); Bob Sikes in Crestview, Fla. ($900,000, rehabilitate runway 17/35); Dothan (Ala.) Regional ($700,061, acquire equipment, acquire safety and/or security equipment, reconstruct apron, rehabilitate runway 14/32); H.L. “Sonny” Callahan of Fairhope, Ala. ($325,000, expand access road); Gulfport-Biloxi International ($319,500, update airport master plan study); Foley (Ala.) Municipal ($305,000, reconstruct taxiway); Peter Prince Field of Milton, Fla. ($300,000, update airport master plan study); Trent Lott International of Pascagoula ($138,308, rehabilitate runway 17/35); Stennis International Airport ($99,061, rehabilitate taxiway); Poplarville-Pearl River (Miss.) ($69,750, improve access road, improve airport drainage). The FAA says airport infrastructure in the United States, with 3,332 airports and 5,000 paved runways, supports economic competitiveness and improves quality of life. According to the FAA’s most recent economic analysis, U.S. civil aviation accounts for $1.6 trillion in total economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs. (Source: GCAC 06/24/19) Complete list of grants Golden Triangle Note: Additional non-Interstate 10 facilities in Mississippi include Batesville Panola County ($ 898,671 Rehabilitate Runway); Greenwood-Leflore ($250,000 Rehabilitate Apron); Columbia-Marion County ($300,000 Reconstruct Taxiway); Columbus-Lowndes County ($141,570 Rehabilitate Runway); Iuka Tishomingo Districts ($180,159 Remove non-hazard obstructions); Olive Branch ($150,000 Update Airport Master Plan Study); Tunica Municipal ($159,606 Acquire Land For Approaches); Vicksburg Municipal ($99,558 Expand Apron); West Point McCharen Field ($219,367 Acquire Land For Approaches); Wiggins Dean Griffin Memorial ($310,000 Rehabilitate Apron, Rehabilitate Runway and Taxiway); and Yazoo County ($150,000 Construct Apron, Taxiway, Expand Apron, Reconstruct Apron, Reconstruct Taxiway).