Feds give BTV $11.9 million for taxiway relocation

Nicole Higgins DeSmet
Burlington Free Press

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration pledged to award a $11.9 million infrastructure grant to Burlington International Airport, according to a Tuesday announcement by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

A jet is towed out of a hanger at Heritage Aviation at the Burlington International Airport in South Burlington on Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

The grant is to relocate the airport's Taxiway G, which is on the southeast side of airfield. According to the statement, the relocation will enhance the safety and efficiency of overall airport operations to meet FAA design standards.

“The Airport Improvement Program helps to maintain our aviation infrastructure and supports safety, capacity, security and environmental improvements,” Secretary Chao said in the statement. “This is an important investment in Burlington air service and the economic vitality of the region.”

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The grant is one of approximately $186 million awarded to 62 airports around the country as a part of the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, which funds airport infrastructure projects.

The Board of Airport Commissioners was accepting bids for the taxiway construction project this spring.

According to an airport construction update in April 2017, Taxiway G will be constructed in segments, and should take approximately two to three years to complete. Construction was scheduled for 2017-19.

Airports are entitled to a certain amount of improvement funding each year, based on passenger volume. Burlington International Airport's enplaning passenger total as of March 2017 was 457,058, up 1.58 percent from last year, according to airport documents.

If an airport's capital project needs exceed available entitlement funds, then the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding, the FAA statement said. At this time, the FAA said it is providing discretionary funding to 25 airports like Burlington International based on high-priority project needs.

The FAA will issue the grants to the airports over the next several weeks.