Grants awarded to Deer Lodge, Great Falls, Culbertson and Three Forks
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced $950,100.00 in funding for critical construction upgrades for four Montana airports.
Grants were awarded to airports in Deer Lodge, Great Falls, Culbertson and Three Forks.
“It’s important that our airports have the resources they need to continue to connect our communities,” Daines stated. “This funding will ensure that our airports can meet their infrastructure needs as well as the needs of the passengers that they serve.”
The following grants were awarded today by the U.S. Department of Transportation:
Bowman Field Airport: $529,177.00 to fund the acquisition of 17.73 acres of land for development to enable the airport to install wildlife perimeter fencing. This project will also fund the installation of a 31,000 foot wildlife perimeter fence to protect the airport from unauthorized and inadvertent entry and wildlife hazards.
Great Falls International Airport: $61,483.00 to fund the full rehabilitation of the current Runway 16/34 lighting system that has reached the end of its useful life and requires rehabilitation to enhance safe airfield operations during low visibility conditions. This project will fund the installation of a new taxiway C lighting system to enhance airfield operations during low visibility conditions.
Big Sky Field Airport: $293,085.00 to fund the acquisition of 60 acres of land to enhance protection for the Runway 8/26 approach and to enable the airport to control land use within the Runway 8/26 protection zones.
Three Forks Airport: $66,355.00 to fund the design phase for full rehabilitation of the current Runway 2/20 lighting system that has reached the end of its useful life and requires rehabilitation to enhance safe airfield operations during low visibility conditions. This project will fund the design phase for the rehabilitation of 5,100 feet of Runway 2/20 to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and to minimize foreign object debris. This project will fund the design phase for the replacement of the existing Runway 2/20 vertical/visual guidance system that has reached the end of its useful life and requires replacement to make the airport more accessible by improving approaches to the runway ends.
Daines secured the following provisions in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization:
- Airport Improvement Program (AIP) dollars which build and maintain Montana’s critical aviation infrastructure such as runways.
- Secured language that ensures if airports see a decrease in enplanements for a year, they don’t lose AIP dollars.
- Daines has also engaged the FAA to expedite grants to northern states with short construction seasons.
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