Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport receives $49.6M FAA grant for runway rehabilitation 

The Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole on Hawaiʻi Island is the recipient of $49.6 million in grant funding from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration. The funds will be used to rehabilitate Runway 17/35 to enhance safety at the facility.

In January, the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation temporarily shut down operations at the airport to assess cracks on the runway.  Transportation officials at the time said the state was scheduled to reconstruct the entire 11,000-foot runway this year, but rains resulted in cracks and accelerated pavement degradation. Asphalt cracks were reported again in April, resulting in another temporary closure.

The FAA is awarding a total of $566.4 million via 296 grants in 47 states to modernize airports as part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) program, part of the $25 billion total included in the law for airport and air traffic control infrastructure improvements. The AIG funds can be used for airport planning, development, sustainability, terminal expansions, baggage system upgrades, runway safety enhancements and noise compatibility projects at eligible airports.

“As Americans fly in record numbers, the Biden-Harris Administration is improving our nation’s airports to make travel more convenient for passengers,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The funding we’re announcing today, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help airports across the country make needed improvements to ensure safety, efficiency and sustainability for years to come.”

View a data visualization of the airports receiving funding.

“We’re helping ensure traveler safety by upgrading every part of airfield operations, from better runway and taxiway configuration to vivid signage, better lighting, and improved pavement markings,” said FAA Associate Administrator for Airports, Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E.

Other airports receiving funding today include: 

• $45.4 million to Seattle-Tacoma International in Washington: This grant funds structural, seismic, and building system upgrades to Concourse S to meet design standards.
• $43.3 million at Charlotte/Douglas International in North Carolina: This grant funds the construction of a deicing pad, taxiways, aircraft parking areas, grading and drainage, lighting, and signage to meet current FAA standards.
• $34.6 million to Louisville Muhammad Ali International in Kentucky: This grant funds expanding the existing terminal by 31,049 square feet and includes a TSA checkpoint, solar microgrid, and emergency generator. 
• $20.6 million to Harry Reid International in Las Vegas, Nevada: This grant funds the replacement of elevators to improve safety and enhance Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
• $20.1 million to Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International in Georgia: This grant funds the rehabilitation of taxiways and taxilanes to improve safety.
• $18.2 million to Sacramento International in California: This grant funds the reconstruction of a pedestrian walkway to enhance safety.
• $13.5 million to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International in Louisiana: This grant funds a new people mover system for the terminal to move passengers through the airport more efficiently.
• $8.2 million to Moline Quad Cities International in Illinois: This grant funds the expansion of the existing terminal by 14,116 square feet to facilitate the movement of passengers and baggage to bring the airport into conformity with current standards.

A full list of AIG grants being announced is available on the FAA website.   

Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, about half the nation’s 3,000 airports have received grants. Airports have already completed projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through the Airport Infrastructure Grant program, including: 

• $4.3 million to Asheville Regional in North Carolina: This grant expanded a terminal building to accommodate passenger demand.
• $8.4 million to Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico: This grant constructed 40,560 square yards for an Air Cargo apron to improve and expand capacity for supply chains.
• $24.1 million to San Diego International in California: This grant funded the first phase of constructing a new taxiway to eliminate the need for an aircraft to back-taxi on the runway to improve safety and efficiency. 

Today’s funding is from one of three aviation grant programs created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. To date, nearly $9 billion of the $15 billion total of AIG funding has been made available to airports across the country.

To date, the Administration has announced over $461 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for over 60,000 infrastructure projects across the nation and has mobilized over $898 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States.