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Sat January 27, 2001 - West Edition
U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater announced $9.9 million in grants for airport improvements, as well as $4.8 million in grants for additional airport projects, transit, rural transportation studies and highway safety in Arkansas.
$9.4 million of the $9.9 million for airport improvements will be used for additional construction at the new Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Fayetteville. Of this total, $2.4 million will be targeted for construction of the new terminal building, as well as for the airport’s security vehicles and security system.
“These grants will provide a boost to Arkansas’ economy while enhancing aviation safety and efficiency, living up to the commitments made by the Clinton administration,” said Slater. “Allowing for expansion of air traffic will encourage the growth of tourism and business development in the state. These grants are very good news for the people of Arkansas.”
In addition, Smith Field Airport in Siloam Springs received $478,000 to construct a new taxiway.
The funding comes from the Airport Improvement Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration. Past USDOT airport improvement grants to Arkansas include $9.3 million granted in 1993 and $16.3 million in 1997.
The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department will use $1.96 million of the $4.8 million in transportation grants to purchase 49 replacement buses for statewide distribution. Thirty-one will be for public transit, and 18 will be for transporting elderly persons and those with disabilities. All these new vehicles will replace like vehicles because the latter have met or exceeded the state’s useful life criteria for these buses.
The remaining funds are designated to purchase three replacement buses for the Razorback Transit System in Fayetteville, to operate a university-based center of excellence in transportation at the University of Arkansas, to implement child passenger protection programs designed to prevent motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries to children, and to support the Mack-Blackwell National Rural Transportation Study Center established in 1992.
“The projects we are funding will yield big dividends in terms of safety, mobility, economic growth, jobs and improved quality of life in Arkansas communities,” said Slater. “[Former] President Clinton and [Former] Vice President Gore leave a legacy of record investment in transportation infrastructure, and these grants are testimony to their commitment.”
Additional airport funds from the $4.8 million will go to complete construction of a parallel taxiway at Harrell Field in Camden, to improve safety by rehabilitating taxiway lighting at the South Arkansas Regional Airport at Godwin Field in El Dorado, and to complete the extension of Runway 36 at Stuttgart Municipal Airport in Stuttgart.