– Airport receives fed funds

Washington (CSi) – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp Wednesday announced a total of more than $4 million in federal funding to make improvements and updates at the Grand Forks, Jamestown and Fort Berthold airports.

“Across our state, we’re seeing a serious increase in demand for air travel. To keep up, many of our airports are building out their facilities, and making updates and improvements to accommodate that growth,” said Heitkamp. “Our airports provide lifelines to our communities – promoting economic development, tourism, job growth, and so much more – and by helping them expand, we’re also improving safety for passengers and airport personnel. These funds will help the airports in Grand Forks, Jamestown and on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation make improvements that will not only improve the efficiency of the airport, but also maintain the high level of safety.”

The funds are distributed as follows:

Grand Forks International Airport – $2,792,978. These funds will be used to build an aircraft rescue and fire fighting building. Last month, Heitkamp announced more than $700,000 in federal funds given to Grand Forks International Airport to improve and upgrade the taxiway. The airport also received more than $4 million in federal funds in May to help reconstruct a taxiway to meet FAA standards.

Jamestown Regional Airport – $729,000. These funds will be used for wetland mitigation. Specifically, the funds will be used to drain a wetland on the airport property and restoring it off-property. In May, Heitkamp announced more than $800,000 in federal funds for Jamestown Regional Airport to acquire a new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicle.

Parshall – Hankins Airport in Fort Berthold – $489,000. These funds will be used to rehabilitate the runway, specifically to complete the mill and overlay.

In April, Heitkamp brought Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta to North Dakota, including Grand Forks, to see firsthand the aviation challenges facing the western part of the state. During the visit, Huerta learned about the drastic rise in passenger enplanements, placing major stress on airport infrastructure. Since then, Heitkamp has announced more than $35 million in federal funds used to invest in North Dakota’s aviation infrastructure.