ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Air service is part of the backbone of Kansas, and recently, the State of Kansas announced some funding to help with just that.
Friday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced four Kansas communities have secured more than $1.9 million in infrastructure funding to improve local airports.
“The communities secured more than $1.7 million in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) program. Additionally, these projects are receiving almost $200,000 in matching funds from the Kansas Infrastructure Hub and Build Kansas Fund,” Gov. Kelly noted in a release from the State of Kansas. “Kansas’ airports play a vital role in connecting businesses to more opportunities and strengthening local economies. These four projects will improve airport infrastructure while strengthening the state’s transportation network.”
“The airports across the state of Kansas are just one of the modes of transportation that we need to enhance whether they are in small or larger communities,” Rep. Troy Waymaster, Chair of the Build Kansas Fund Advisory Committee, noted in the State of Kansas release. “I am grateful that these airports in Kansas have been awarded the federal grants so they can enhance their needs for our economy. This is precisely why the BUILD Kansas program was created so we can leverage the grant dollars for the benefit of Kansans.”
The four Kansas airport projects receiving funding are:
Independence Municipal Airport – Taxiway Rehabilitation
• Build Kansas Funding - $37,248
• Federal Funding Awarded - $335,224
• Total Project - $372,472
Hutchinson Regional Airport – Construct General Aviation Taxilane
• Build Kansas Funding - $97,888
• Federal Funding Awarded - $881,000
• Total Project - $978,888
Coffey County Airport – Taxiway Rehabilitation
• Build Kansas Funding - $31,863
• Federal Funding Awarded - $286,754
• Total Project - $318,617
Elkhart-Morton County Airport – Runway Rehabilitation
• Build Kansas Funding - $26,250
• Federal Funding Awarded - $236,257
• Total Project - $262,507
“We are grateful for the Build Kansas Fund match we received on our BIL-AIG project. Bids had come in quite a bit higher than we had expected, and we would have had to drop the add-alternate portion to make up the difference. The match allowed us to carry through with the original vision of the project and even save some money for future airport projects,” Alek Stang, Hutchinson Regional Airport Director, noted in the State of Kansas release.
“We have heard time and time again from our local stakeholders that with a little technical assistance and matching fund support, they would be able to leverage additional federal funding for their communities,” Kansas Infrastructure Hub Executive Director Matt Volz noted in the State of Kansas release. “The support provided through the Kansas Infrastructure Hub demonstrates Kansas as a national leader while ensuring that our local communities have the tools necessary to maximize the opportunity, which is the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.”
In addition to these four awards, the Build Kansas Fund has provided the required match dollars for 23 other federal grant awards across Kansas. The combined total investment by the Build Kansas Fund in all projects is over $28.5 million, which has resulted in federal grant awards of more than $44.8 million.
“The Kansas Infrastructure Hub connects multiple state agencies and serves as a resource center for Kansas communities to identify best practices for maximizing BIL funding opportunities,” the State of Kansas release noted. “The Build Kansas Fund provides state matching dollars for projects throughout Kansas that successfully apply for federal grants under BIL. In 2023, the Kansas Legislature and Gov. Kelly approved $200 million for the Build Kansas Fund to provide state-matching dollars to Kansas entities and projects to meet federal-local match requirements.”
