Rhode Island airport awarded $30M grant for improvements, repairs

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The Rhode Island Airport Corporation was recently awarded a $30 million grant through the Airport Improvement Program.

The funds will be used to complete reconstruction of Runway 16-34, extend and reconstruct Taxiway B and relocate Taxiway C at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick. The airport’s surfaces are past their 20-year life cycle.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2021.

The work continues other improvements at the airport including extending the main runway in 2017. The extension allows for more nonstop flights.

“T.F. Green Airport is an important economic engine for Rhode Island, and these federal funds will ensure it has the modern aviation infrastructure to help reach new heights and even more destinations,” U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said. “This grant will literally help pave the way for a safer, smoother runway and a more efficient airfield.”

The Federal Aviation Administration can provide discretionary funds if an airport’s capital projects exceed available entitlement funds. Rhode Island is receiving the largest supplemental grant.

Reed worked to provide an additional $1 billion in airport improvement funds for fiscal year 2018 transportation funding. Funding targets medium and small-hub airports.

Reed is the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and Related Agencies.