U.S. Awards Airport Terminal Projects Worth $968-M

The US Transportation Department on Thursday (Friday, July 8, 2022, in Manila) awarded $968.6 million to 85 airport projects to address the country's aging and often mocked aviation infrastructure, David Shepardson reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Logan International Airport

Some projects will support the construction of new terminals, the expansion of gate capacity, the addition of air traffic control towers, jet bridges, new toilets, baggage claim belts, and the reconfiguration of security checkpoints.

Congress approved the five-year, $5 billion airport terminal grant program in November as part of the $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

"Airport terminals are not something the federal government has historically invested in. It's typically been local airport owners and airlines that have done that. But the need is evident," White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu told reporters.

US airports have often fared poorly in worldwide comparisons and occasionally received ridicule from foreign visitors.

"America is a country that brought modern aviation to the world and yet around the world in most rankings of airport quality, not one of our airports ranks among the Top 25," US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, adding no one could look at US airports and say "the existing system and existing levels of funding have been adequate."

Among the projects receiving funding are: $60 million for a new baggage handling system at Denver International Airport, $50 million for Los Angeles to reconstruct its terminal roadway system and reconfigure a central entrance, $62 million for Boston to renovate the existing 1974 Terminal E facilities at Logan International Airport and replace arrival roadways, $50 million for Orlando to build four new gates, and $40 million for Atlanta to widen, update, and modernize the 40-year-old Concourse A.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic