Jan. 25, 2006 ( 06-008)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News Contact: Stan Whitley, (785) 296-3585

KDOT announces projects selected to receive funding for airport improvements

Twenty-three public use airports in the state have been selected to receive safety and service enhancements thanks to the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Airport Improvement Program

These projects will address maintenance, geometric improvement and facility and equipment needs at non-primary public use airports. These are airports in the state that are classified as having less than 10,000 passenger boardings  per year.

“KDOT funds $3 million in airport projects annually and we have seen dramatic improvements in air transportation across the state since the program’s inception seven years ago,” said KDOT Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller. “All Kansans are now only 30 minutes away from emergency air services and runway pavement conditions have improved from a 49 (fair) rating to a 72 (very good) rating.”

Recognizing the importance of air service to the Kansas economy and emergency health care services, KDOT established the Airport Improvement Program in 1999 with funding authorized as part of the Comprehensive Transportation Program (CTP).

“These improvements couldn’t have happened without local partners and KDOT working together,” said Miller. “The program is designed to stretch state dollars by requiring participation from local units of government. Over the past seven years, KDOT has contributed approximately $21 million to help fund 161 airport improvement projects throughout the state.”

Under guidelines of the program, project sponsors are required to pay a minimum of 10 percent of the total project costs or a maximum of 50 percent of the total project cost based on population.

Prior to passage of the CTP, Kansas was the only state in the country that did not provide state funding for airport improvements. Miller said that commerce, air ambulance service, agriculture and law enforcement have been key benefactors of the airport improvement program.

The following is a list of the FY 2007 selected airport improvement projects.

Allen County – Runway widening; Anthony – Taxiway repair; Atchison – Automated weather information system; Benton – Extend taxiway; Chanute – Repair taxiway joints; Emporia – Repair taxiway joints; Hillsboro – Construct taxiway; Hugoton – Overlay runway; Leavenworth – Repair ramp; Lyndon – Reconstruct runway; Mankato – Sea1 runway; McPherson – Airfield markings; Neodesha – Lighting; Osborne – Construct taxiway; Rawlins-Atwood – Automated weather information system; Rose Hill – Construct taxiway; Satanta – Reconstruct trafficway;  Sedan – Repair lights; Smith Center – Precision approach path indicator; Syracuse – Two projects - lighting and phase II runway; WaKeeney – Construct turnarounds; Tribune – Beacon and lighted cone; Wichita Cessna – Reconstruct runway.

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