At the end of June, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International will receive millions in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The funding, amounting to about $11.6 million in total, is part of the FAA’s Airport Investment Program, which is a grant program that funds airport development projects to strengthen the nation’s aviation infrastructure. The collective funding granted in 2019 reaches $495 million and will be distributed on an as-need basis to over 300 airports in the United States.
According to the FAA’s most recent economic analysis conducted in 2014, civil aviation in the U.S. accounts for $1.6 trillion in total economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs. In Virginia and the District, the economic earnings reach nearly $5 million in total and support about 132 thousand jobs.
Reagan is set to receive $4.9 million to reconstruct airport aprons where aircrafts are packed, loaded, refueled and boarded, while Dulles will receive $6.7 million for reconstruction of an aircraft taxi lane between terminals, according to Athena W. Hernandez of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
While a timeline, as well as what to expect of closures for the planned construction has yet to be announced, we will update readers as soon as information is released.
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