The Federal Aviation Administration recently announced that the city of Kansas City will receive a $765,00 grant to remove a dangerous taxiway at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport.
It was among five grants totaling more than $14.3 million dollars approved in Missouri through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, which also approved 32 projects in Kansas totaling more than $15.3 million.
With the grant money, Delta taxiway at the Downtown Airport will be removed. The removal was recommended by the annual Runway Safety Action Team in 2016 and reaffirmed in 2017.
According to the Kansas City Aviation Department, bids for the taxiway removal will open June 26 with a proposed contract presented for city council approval in July.
Work tentatively is scheduled to begin in August and should be completed by the end of the year.
Among the projects in Kansas is a grant for $518,528 that will allow the city of Gardner to purchase land for approaches at Gardner Municipal Airport.
Each project is among $677 million in infrastructure grants at 214 airports in 43 states announced by the FAA. The Airport Improvement Program is a $3.18 billion initiative to improve the nation’s infrastructure for air travel.
“If you want a strong transportation system, you have to invest in airport infrastructure,” U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in a release announcing the grants. “Airports are the backbone of aviation. These communities are going to reap greater safety, efficiency, and economic dividends for years to come.”
