In an effort to reduce the threat of runway incursions, the FAA has disbursed more than $121 million in airport improvement funds for projects at eight airports.
“The FAA is serious about ending runway incursions and we are putting substantial resources behind our efforts,” said Shannetta Griffin, the agency’s associate administrator for airports. “In some cases, the best way to address safety risks is modifying or reconfiguring existing airfields [and] these grants directly address those situations."
Of the eight recipients, the largest award went to Boston Logan International (KBOS), which received $44.9 million to remove part of Taxiways Q and F in line with the airport’s runway incursion mitigation plan and to rehabilitate its 10,000-foot Runway 15R/33L, along with Taxiways T, N, and M.
The second-largest grant went to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC) in Alaska, which received $39.8 million for a variety of taxiway improvements, including new lighting systems.
Willow Run Airport (KYIP) in Detroit got $12.8 million to construct a 6,720-foot parallel taxiway to avoid having aircraft back-taxi on the runway. Meanwhile, Virginia's Richmond International Airport (KRIC) will use its $5.6 million award to shift its taxiway E northward to comply with the FAA's design standards.
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), $5 million in grants will go toward the construction of new connector taxiways to Runways 1/19 and 15/33, as well as the reconfiguration of Taxiways J, K, L, N, N1, and S to meet FAA standards.
Ohio's Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport (KTOL), Florida’s Naples Airport (KAPF), and Wyoming's Jackson Hole Airport (KJAC) also each received between $2.6 million and $4.6 million to complete their own respective taxiway and airport surface projects.