$12 Million in Economic Recovery Funds for Asheville Regional and Raleigh-Durham International Airpo
by Jill Zuckman
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood today announced that North Carolina will receive $12 million for airport improvements under the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
“Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act we are creating jobs in North Carolina and across the country while investing in the long-term safety and economic vitality of our airports,” said Secretary LaHood.
The Federal Aviation Administration will provide $12 million to North Carolina for the following projects:
• Asheville Regional Airport will receive $7.5 million to improve the terminal building
• Raleigh-Durham International will receive $4.5 million to rehabilitate the runway lighting on 05L/23R.
About 3,400 airports designated as part of the national airport
system are eligible to receive ARRA funds. The FAA is moving swiftly to
work with airport sponsors to ensure eligible projects have completed
or nearly completed, design and planning requirements.
Under ARRA, the FAA received $1.1 billion to allocate to
qualified 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.
Secretary LaHood said the Obama Administration is committed to
getting ARRA money into the economy as quickly as possible. He noted
that President Obama signed the ARRA into law on February 17, less than
one month after taking the oath of office. Less than two weeks later,
on March 3, LaHood joined President Obama and Vice President Biden at
an historic announcement at the U.S. Department of Transportation to
mark the release of $26.6 billion to the states and localities for
highways, roads and bridges. The release of funds came eight days
earlier than required by law.
On March 5, Secretary LaHood joined Vice President Biden and
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz to announce the availability of $8.4 billion for
transit infrastructure. On March 12, Secretary LaHood announced that
Pittsburgh International and Allegheny County Airports had received the
first funding allocations for airport infrastructure projects, and on
March 13, Vice President Biden announced that DOT made $1.3 billion
available to Amtrak for capital and security improvements. On March 26,
Secretary LaHood announced more than $28 million for Arizona airports.
Secretary LaHood noted that in early February, prior to the
passage of the ARRA, he had established a team within the Department of
Transportation to ensure that economic recovery funding is rapidly made
available for transportation infrastructure projects and that project
spending is monitored and transparent.
