FAA Grant Awarded to Tallahassee Regional Airport
Funds to be used for runway rehabilitation
With an initiative that will provide needed rehabilitation work for its runways, the Tallahassee Regional Airport (TLH) has been awarded a federal grant of $12,798,468. The grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will also provide a boost to the local economy, with up to 160 workers being hired for the project.
The FAA grant is composed of two separate funding awards. The first amount of $9,937,196 is a discretionary sum based on a competitive process involving the FAA's ranking of eligible projects. An entitlement amount of $2,861,272 is based on a formula derived from the number of annual passengers boarding at TLH. Combined, the federal dollars will fund the first phase in the rehabilitation of Runway 09/27 with construction expected to commence early next year. The grant will fund FAA-eligible portions of the project to extend the north/south Runway 18-36 from 6,000 feet to 7,000 feet and pay for the costs incurred by FAA for relocating the Airport's ground based navigational systems.
This first phase of the project is necessary to prepare Runway 18-36 to serve as the Airport's only available runway for a period of nearly 15 months while the primary east/west Runway 09/27 is being reconstructed. The work on Runway 09/27 is being undertaken to correct a design inadequacy which could potentially result in a small aircraft being hidden from view from a departing aircraft, due to a greater than allowed elevation change per FAA design standards.
“The fact that the FAA is paying for 95 percent of eligible costs demonstrates the importance of the project to that agency and Tallahassee Regional Airport's role in the National Air-Transportation system” said Director of Aviation Sunil Harman. In addition to the improvements to the runways, Harman also noted the creation of 160 jobs further extends the Airport's role as a key economic engine for Tallahassee and the surrounding region served by TLH. He also credited the support of Tallahassee's congressional delegation as an important component in receiving the federal funding.
The Tallahassee Regional Airport is operated and maintained by the City of Tallahassee. Visit http://www.flytallahassee.com/ for more information on the Tallahassee Regional Airport, including commercial air carrier services provided by American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways.
CONTACT
Sunil Harman, Director of Aviation, 891-7802; or Bill Behenna, Communications Department, 891-8533
Tags: Tallahassee Airport Tallahassee Airport Local Business
