Five Maine airports receive $6.1M in federal aid for improvements

Courtesy / Bethel Regional Airport Bethel Regional Airport received $75,000 as part of the most recent round of allocations from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Improvement Program.

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Five Maine airports have received a total of $6.1 million through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Improvement Program.

The money comes through the fiscal year 2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill that was signed into law in December, according to a news release.

A section of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act also provided a national allocation of $48.5 billion to support transportation and housing programs. The act allows the Federal Aviation Administration to eliminate the local cost-share obligation for airports, many of which are facing serious financial challenges as the pandemic grounds air travel.

“Just like airports around the world, Maine airports are struggling to make ends meet given the sharp downturn in passenger traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in the release. “These investments in airport infrastructure will help ensure that airports across the state will continue to serve as engines of job creation and essential pieces of our transportation network after this crisis has passed.”

The funding was allocated as follows:

Augusta State Airport received $300,000 to update the airport’s master plan.
Bethel Regional Airport received $75,000 to remove obstructions.
Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport received $190,406 to rehabilitate the airport apron as well as seal the apron pavement surface and pavement joints.
Portland International Jetport received $2,294,690 to construct and rehabilitate a taxiway.
Wiscasset Airport received $3,260,906 to rehabilitate a runway.

In June 2019, the Bethel, Hancock County-Bar Harbor and Wiscasset airports received nearly $1 million for similar projects.

In February, Portland International Jetport was awarded $4.5 million to construct a 1,225-foot taxiway to better connect its two runways.

By mid-March, officials with Portland International Jetport and Bangor International Airport told Mainebiz they were seeing a dramatic drop in passenger demand as the pandemic tightened its grip on the world.