Three Hudson Valley airports will receive more than $4 million from the U.S. Transportation Department to improve their safety and infrastructure.
The funding is part of the latest round of grants from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program. Airports are entitled to a certain amount of the program’s funding annually, based on passenger volume. So far this year, the FAA has used the program to distribute more than $3.2 billion across the country.
The $3,369,073 award for the Orange County Airport in Montgomery was the largest of the local grants announced on Sept. 11. It will go toward expanding and rehabilitating the airport’s apron — the area where airplanes are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, boarded, or maintained. So far this year, the Orange County Airport has received a total of $3,536,543 in grants from the Airport Improvement program.
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said in a statement that the grant will allow the airport to increase capacity.
The Orange County Airport is a “highly utilized General Aviation airport and FAA aviation infrastructure grants are instrumental in assisting the Airport in meeting the needs of our growing aviation community,” he said in a news release.
The Hudson Valley Regional Airport in Poughkeepsie was also awarded $1,382,463. It plans to use the money to install a runway vertical and visual guidance system, reconstruct airfield guidance signs, reconstruct runway lighting, acquire snow removal equipment, reconstruct taxiway lighting and rehabilitate the taxiway.
“These grants will allow us to better maintain and improve the airport’s infrastructure, ensuring pilots, visitors, Dutchess Community College students, and airport personnel can safely and reliably access the site,” Dutchess County Executive William F.X. O’Neil said in a statement where he described the airport as a “hub of learning” and an economic resource.
In Monticello, the Sullivan County International Airport will use its $200,717 grant to acquire aircraft rescue and fire-fighting safety equipment, as well as rehabilitate its apron and taxi lane.
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, whose district includes the Orange County and Hudson Valley Regional airports, is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Federal Aviation Administration. He said these grants will help reduce wait times, modernize their technology and create construction jobs.
“Our local airports should continue to be the gold standard for flight safety and efficiency, and I’m working to deliver that first-in-class service for Hudson Valley families,” he said in a statement.
The Schenectady County Airport will also receive grant funding in this round. Its $150,000 will go toward reconstructing airfield guidance signs, as well as reconstructing and rehabilitating taxiway lighting. The Schenectady County Airport has received a total of $2,100,232 this year from the federal program.
