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MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has announced the awarding of more than $700,000 in state funding for improvements to airports in the state. This funding is the state’s matching portion of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant. The FAA covers 90 percent of the cost of airport improvements with the remaining amount being provided by state and local governments.

A total of 13 airports in Alabama are included in this latest round of grants. Lanett Regional Airport is among the recipients. Lanett will be getting $28,686 from ALDOT for a coming project to improve the airport taxiway. The FAA will be giving $516,366 for this work to be done. The airport will provide $28,688 in matching local funds for a total value project of $573,740.

A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete. In some cases, the smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel or grass.

Other airports to receive funding include Bessemer Municipal, $71,835 in matching funds for airfield pavement maintenance; Courtland Airport, $14,137 from a state grant for a $250,000 project to rehabilitate taxiways and a parallel ramp; Cullman Regional-Folsom Field Airport, $8,405 from a state grant for a $150,000 project to build a midfield runway; Dothan Regional, $8,238 in state money for a $16,000 project to improve airfield drainage; Eufaula Municipal, $86,412 in state funds for a $1.5 million project to build taxiways; Florala Municipal, $12,045 from a state grant for a $215,000 to prepare a site for a new terminal; Gulf Shores International/Jack Edwards Field, $2,591 from the state as part of a $46,000 project to improve runway safety; Ozark Municipal, $8,404 from the state for a $168,000 project to build a new corporate hangar; Pryor Field Regional, Decatur, $178,000 from the state and $178,000 in local funds for a $3.5 million project to build a new taxiway; Troy Municipal, $96,684 from the state as part of a $3.5 million project to rehabilitate the taxiway; Union Springs Airport-Franklin Field, $46,909 from a state grant and $46,909 in local funds for a $938,000 project to build a four-unit box hangar, and the William E. Stewart Jackson Municipal Airport, $5,000 in state funds and $5,000 in local funds for a $100,000 project to prepare an airport master plan.

These grants are made possible through ALDOT’s Alabama Airport Improvement Program. Through this program ALDOT can provide financial assistance and other engineering and technical services to airport owners regarding the acquisition, construction, expansion, maintenance or operation of public airport facilities. ALDOT anticipates awarding approximately $8 million in state funds to Alabama’s various local airports during the 2024-25 fiscal year.