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85 airports around the country to get upgrades thanks to $1 billion in federal infrastructure money [1]

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Date: 2022-07-07

The “around the country” part is serious:

According to the FAA, 70 grants to expand terminal capacity go to airports including Pittsburgh International Airport, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, Huntsville International, and Orlando International Airport. Seventy-six grants will improve sustainability at terminals including Dallas-Fort Worth International, Boise Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Flint, Michigan’s Bishop International Airport. Those sustainability projects range from water bottle refill stations to a zero-carbon electrical central utility plant.

Improving access for people with disabilities is the focus of 73 grants. A project at Austin Bergstrom International Airport “improves access with hearing loops, wayfinding, and multi-lingual assistance, plus assistive care restrooms and ADA compliance throughout. LEED Silver goal projects include energy efficient systems, glass tinting, and sustainable energy construction.”

Rural areas are not being left behind in this round of funding, with money going to airports in Dexter, Maine; Washington, Iowa; Chamberlain, South Dakota; and Preston, Minnesota.

Many of these projects are unusual uses of federal funds, which typically go to pay for things like runways and air traffic control towers. Some of the grants are for that type of work, but others are for terminal upgrades that would usually be paid for by passenger facility charges. Airports have pushed Congress to increase those charges to allow for more improvements, while airlines have opposed an increase.

“I don't think anybody could look at airports across America today and say that the existing system or the existing levels of funding have been adequate,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “It is very natural for public funds to go to publicly important resources and pieces of infrastructure. And we think that includes airport terminals.”

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/7/2109000/-85-airports-around-the-country-to-get-upgrades-thanks-to-1-billion-in-federal-infrastructure-money

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