Transportation Department Grants MN $22M To Improve Airport Infrastructure

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation announced it will grant $22.2 million dollars to 18 airports in Minnesota in an effort to improve their infrastructure.

Many of the grants will go toward building runways and tarmacs, and purchasing snow removal equipment. The largest grant will go to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the sum of $9.1 million to build a taxiway, improve a runway safety area and to install lighting and runway markings.

"This significant investment in airport improvements in Minnesota will fund construction and rehabilitation projects that will help maintain high levels of safety in U.S. aviation," Sec. Elaine Chao said.

The grants are part of a 45-state effort to reconstruct and rehabilitate the nation's airports.