The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) announced Monday that it awarded 11 Airport Improvement Program grants totaling more than $8.5 million in state funds.
The grants in eight counties across the state will support airport safety and improvement projects.
“General aviation airports not only provide transportation for residents, businesses, and visitors but also serve as key economic engines for local communities,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “These grants will improve our public-use airports, so all facets of New Jersey’s multi-modal transportation system are modern and safe.”
The grants are funded solely through NJDOT’s Transportation Trust Fund and Airport Safety Fund. The state covers 90 percent of the eligible cost and the airport owner covers the remaining 10 percent. By leveraging $8.5 million in state funds, the NJDOT said, the total amount of work will be $9.4 million when combined with the $900,000 from airport contributions.
Grants included $1.395 million for runway construction and airfield sign replacement at the Essex/Fairfield Airport in Essex County; $1.3 million to rehabilitate airfield lighting at the Salem/Oldmans Airport in Spitfire; $900,000 to relocate a taxiway at the Morris/Hanover Airport in Morristown; and $374,231.70 for the development of an Airport Master Plan and AGIS Aeronautical Survey at the Hunterdon/Reading Airport in Solberg.
Grants are awarded through a competitive process. Projects funded include runway rehabilitation, taxiway construction, lighting improvements, obstruction removal, and safety improvements.