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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Airports that serve the Sauk Valley area will receive a portion of $123.6 million that is allocated to Illinois’ 77 airports through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Whiteside County Airport in Rock Falls, Dixon Municipal Airport in Dixon, and Rochelle Municipal Airport in Ogle County will each get $159,000. Tri-Township Airport in Savanna will get $110,000.
Separately, Rockford International Airport will get $2.599 million as a commercial site. Also, Clinton Municipal Airport in Clinton, Iowa, will get $159,000.
The money can be used for runways, taxiways, safety and sustainability projects, terminal improvements and roadways.
This is the first of five annual rounds of funding the Illinois airports will receive.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has given us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build safer and more sustainable airports that connect individuals to jobs and communities to the world,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this new funding, urban, regional and rural airports across the country now can get to work on projects that have waited for years, modernizing their infrastructure and building a better America.”
Illinois airports can submit projects they wish to use the funds on for FAA review in the coming weeks. The FAA encourages airports to prioritize projects that increase airport safety, equity and sustainability.
The agency also plans to conduct outreach with the minority business community on these opportunities at airports across the nation.
The money comes from the Airport Infrastructure Grant program, one of three new aviation programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The law provides $15 billion over five years for this program. The FAA estimates the backlog of airport modernization and safety projects totals $43.6 billion.
This allocation is separate from the Rebuild Illinois grants that went to airports on Dec. 1. Those projects require the airport to allocate 10% of the cost of the designated project to qualify for the grant. Whiteside has a $450,000 entrance road project, Dixon a $340,000 entrance road project, Tri-Township a $190,000 electric security fence project and Rochelle a $320,00 access road project and a $230,000 runway approach light project.