Nearly $3M awarded to Tri-Cities Airport for improvements
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Tri-Cities Airport (TRI) has been awarded nearly $3 million in grant funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In fiscal year 2024, airports across the country were allotted funds through the Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) program. Tri-Cities Airport was awarded $2,059,135 through that program, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported.
The AIG program is a subset of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to TRI Marketing & Air Service Development Manager Trevor Rice. All airports receive AIG funds for five years, lasting through fiscal year 2026, Rice told News Channel 11.
In addition to the AIG funds, the airport also received $765,000 through the Airport Terminal Program (ATP).
Rice said ATP grants are another competitive subset of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that can be used for terminal projects to create “safe, sustainable and accessible airport terminals, on-airport rail access projects and airport-owned air traffic control towers.”
An FAA breakdown of ATP grants stated TRI would use the $765,000 to fund part of its Terminal Concourse Connector rehabilitation project. The project aims to expand the width of the corridor for a better passenger experience at the airport.
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TRI leadership announced in January that it had experienced an increase in passengers in 2023, with more than 60,000 additional passengers from the previous year. In September, the airport revealed plans to bring a nonstop service to Chicago with help from another grant.
TRI was one of only two Tennessee airports to receive an ATP grant in fiscal year 2024. Nashville International Airport was awarded $5 million.
Other regional airports also received AIG money. The airports and their grant funding as reported by the FAA can be found below:
Elizabethton Municipal – $294,000
Johnson County Airport – $144,000
Hawkins County Airport – $144,000
Virginia Highlands Airport – $294,000
Tazewell County Airport – $113,000
Lonesome Pine Airport – $113,000
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