Long Beach Airport receives roughly $27 million for infrastructure projects
The Long Beach Airport has received roughly $27 million in funding for infrastructure projects, federal officials said Tuesday, more than nearly 30 other airports in the state that also were awarded federal funds.
Long Beach, and a handful of other Southern California airports, were among 405 airports nationwide that the Federal Aviation Administration announced received a combined $1.2 billion in grants, which will go toward safety and infrastructure projects. Los Angeles International, John Wayne, Bob Hope and Riverside Municipal airports were also among those that got funding.
“We’re all about investing in critical aviation infrastructure,” said Kirk Shaffer, FAA associate administrator for airports. “Because it’s good for the economy, creates jobs, and we like to talk about the internet economy — people need to realize that what they order off of the internet, gets transported at some juncture.”
In Long Beach, the $27 million will be allocated toward taxiway construction and reconstruction. Taxiways are the roads that planes use to drive from one point to another at an airport, as opposed to a runway where planes take off and land.
The Long Beach Airport will use the funding to convert one of its decommissioned runways into a new taxiway, which will require some demolition and construction work. That project – Taxiway B – is expected to be completed by August 2021, Long Beach Airport spokeswoman Kate Kuykendall said.
The primary taxiway for commercial aircraft departures is currently Taxiway L, which has some damage due to the limitations of compaction on the tunnels over Lakewood Boulevard and Spring Street. That taxiway will be rehabilitated, a project that is expected to be finished in 2023, Kuykendall said.
“Those things are really important for safety and efficiency for the air carriers to get in and out,” she said.
Los Angeles International Airport received $17.5 million, which will go toward noise mitigation measures for its residents. The funding will primarily go toward sound insulation, but several cities surrounding the airport have their own noise mitigation programs, so the majority of the funding will go toward those programs, an airport spokesman said.
For the people who do not live in those jurisdictions, Los Angeles Internation Airport will use $3.75 million to create its own program for those folks, the spokesman said.
Grants such as those at Long Beach and Los Angeles International airports are typically awarded several times throughout each year. The FAA doles out the funds through its Airport Improvement Program, helping pay for projects for approximately 3,300 eligible airports nationwide.
The program is funded by the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which takes taxes from aircraft passengers and cargo, Shaffer said. The grants are determined by which airports have the highest priority projects, he said.
Bob Hope Airport in Burbank received nearly $3 million for taxiway and apron improvements. John Wayne Airport received about $1.2 million for installing airfield guidance signs, runway lighting and navigational aids.
About $240,000 was awarded to Riverside Municipal Airport for emergency generators, and installing airfield guidance signs and navigational aids. Also in Los Angeles, Whiteman Airport was given $165,000 for zero-emission vehicle infrastructure.
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