CULLMAN, Ala. – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a grant to the Cullman Regional Airport/Folsom Field to relocate a taxiway connector from the airport apron (aircraft parking area). The $774,251 grant is part of the FAA’s 2020 slate of Airport Improvement Program-funded projects across the country and one of 15 in Alabama.
The FAA issued this statement:
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced today that the Trump Administration will award nearly $800 million in airport safety and infrastructure grants through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to 46 states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Marshall Islands.
“This nearly $800 million Federal investment in airport infrastructure will strengthen safety, improve travel, generate jobs and provide many economic benefits for local communities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
A complete listing of grants (PDF) and an interactive map of airports receiving funding is available on the FAA website.
The total includes $689 million from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and $104.4 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grants to equal a 100 percent Federal share.
“These 383 grants will allow airport sponsors to either begin or complete construction projects that will maintain the safety and efficiency of our national airport system,” said FAA Administrator Stephen M. Dickson.
These grants will be used for a variety of critical infrastructure and safety projects. Some of the projects include purchasing aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment, constructing runways and taxiways, repairing runways and taxiways, installing aircraft lighting and signage, conducting airport master plan studies, and installing airport perimeter fencing.
Recent changes in FAA regulations do not allow aircraft to taxi directly from airport aprons to the runway, so the current connector must be moved.
According to Cullman Regional Airport General Manager Ben Harrison, the relocation is part of an ongoing local airport plan.
Said Harrison, “It will give us a new connector between taxiway B and the runway. So, based on the new regulations, it’s something that we have to do. But this is also following with our plan. We developed a five-year plan starting in 2014, and we’ve finished the first phase of that five-year plan in 2019, so this is starting phase two. This is, basically, years five through 10, and we also will have a phase three that goes years 11 through 15. We’re just following our plan.”
Construction is scheduled to begin in August.
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