Pennsylvania Governor Corbett: State, Federal Investment to Enhance 27 Airports

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Twenty-seven airports across Pennsylvania will improve facilities and enhance safety with a $12.6 million investment of federal and state funds, Governor Tom Corbett announced today.

"More than 290,000 people in Pennsylvania rely on the aviation industry for jobs," Governor Corbett said. "It's vital to maintain investments in these airports so they can continue operating safely and are able to expand to meet business demands."

The state portion of funding – $805,547 from PennDOT's aviation development program – comes from the state's jet fuel tax and leverages more than $743,047 in local matching funds.

The Federal Aviation Administration is providing $11.8 million in grants through the block grant program, which is funded through taxes collected nationally on airline tickets, freight waybills, international departure fees, and the sale of aviation fuel. Airports receive up to 95 percent of eligible project costs for projects included in Pennsylvania's 12-year transportation program.

Public-use airports in the state are eligible for the aviation development program. Airports eligible for the federal block grant program include: general aviation airports, designated reliever airports, and non-primary commercial airline airports (those with fewer than 10,000 annual passengers) that are part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.

The state has 133 public-use airports and heliports and 15 airports have scheduled commercial service.

For more information, visit www.dot.state.pa.us and then click on the "Public Participation 2013 Program Update" button, or call 717-783-8800.

Media contacts:
Erin Waters, PennDOT; 717-783-8800
Kelli Roberts, Governor's Office; 717-783-1116

Editor's Note: Following is a list of airport improvement grant recipients, the amount of funding, and a brief description of the projects:

Beaver County:  Beaver County Airport -- $100,278 to conduct an obstruction survey.

Bedford County:  Bedford County Airport -- $767,125 to rehabilitate an apron, parking area, access road and taxiway, and construct an apron.

Bradford County:  Bradford County Airport -- $802,222 to prepare a site for a new taxiway.

Bucks County:  Doylestown Airport -- $686,131 to construct bypass taxiways and pave grass tie-downs.

Butler County:  Butler County Airport -- $258,611 to remove obstructions and crack seal and re-mark a runway.

Cambria County:  Ebensburg Airport -- $827,292 to rehabilitate a hangar taxiway and remove obstructions.

Carbon County:  Jake Arner Memorial Airport -- $188,416 to implement obstruction mitigation activities and apply seal coating to an aircraft parking apron.

Chester County: 

• Brandywine Airport -- $350,972 to construct improvements to the main terminal and an apron, and design an airfield lighting rehabilitation and relocation project.
• Chester County/G.O. Carlson Airport -- $1.2 million to construct an apron.
• New Garden Flying Field -- $206,572 to design a runway's reconstruction and widening.

Clarion County:  Clarion County Airport -- $290,806 to design a runway overlay project and update the airport master plan. 

Clearfield County:  Clearfield-Lawrence Airport -- $504,291 to rehabilitate the runway lighting system and update the airport master plan. 

Clinton County:  William T. Piper Memorial Airport -- $977,708 to construct a runway rehabilitation project.

Crawford County:  Port Meadville Airport – $451,289 to rehabilitate an apron and acquire land and remove obstructions to a runway.

Elk County:  St. Mary's Municipal Airport -- $250,694 to update the airport master plan.

Fayette County:  Joseph A. Hardy/ Connellsville Airport -- $992,700 to conduct an airport master plan study and rehabilitate a runway lighting system.

Indiana County:  Indiana County/Jimmy Stewart Airport -- $187,361 to acquire easements to remove obstructions from a runway approach, and acquire crack-sealing material. 

Lawrence County:  New Castle Municipal Airport -- $158,333 to construct a snow-removal equipment building.

Luzerne County:  Hazleton Municipal Airport -- $223,408 to design a runway safety area improvement project; $93,750 in state Aviation Development Program funds to acquire aircraft refueling and maintenance equipment. 

Mifflin County:  Mifflin County Airport -- $200,556 to construct a hangar taxiway.

Monroe County:  Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport -- $275,674 to acquire snow-removal equipment.

Northumberland County:  Northumberland County Airport -- $335,930 to acquire snow-removal equipment and rehabilitate airfield pavements. 

Schuylkill County:  Schuylkill County/Joe Zerbey Airport -- $260,722 to update the airport layout plan.

Snyder County:  Penn Valley Airport -- $200,556 to update the airport layout plan.

Somerset County:  Somerset County Airport -- $371,027 to update the airport master plan and rehabilitate airport navigational aids. 

Venango County:  Venango Regional Airport -- $200,556 to acquire airfield deicing equipment.

Washington County:  Washington County Airport -- $1.2 million to crack seal and re-mark a runway and taxiways, and to remove obstructions and acquire land.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Transportation