Twenty-six airports have been selected for Kansas Airport Improvement Program funding to repair or improve facilities and enhance air ambulance access.
The projects selected for this Kansas Department of Transportation program will receive a combined total of just over $4 million in fiscal year 2018. KAIP requires airport sponsors to share in the project costs by paying a minimum of five percent of the total project costs up to a maximum of 50 percent, depending on project category (such as modernization, equipment, design, and preservation). The combined total value of the approved projects is estimated at $4.45 million.
Transportation Secretary Richard Carlson selected the new KAIP projects to improve airports in the State of Kansas. “These projects will help us make critical air services available to more Kansans all across the state,” said Secretary Carlson. “Improvements currently underway at rural airports will help ensure that 93 percent of our population has air ambulance access.”
KAIP receives $5 million annually through the T-WORKS transportation program. KDOT’s Division of Aviation, which manages the program, considered 123 applications for projects totaling $31.7 million.
“The aviation industry and general aviation are key economic engines in the State of Kansas,” pointed out KDOT Director of Aviation, Merrill Atwater. “The KAIP program helps us continue building that growth to maintain aviation as an important part of the Kansas economy, which results in jobs for its residents.”
“The applications we receive each year for KAIP projects are very competitive, indicating the value local officials attach to maintaining and developing their airports,” said State Aviation Planner Greg Chenoweth. “KAIP allows us to advance the effectiveness of our airport system on a state-wide basis.”
Communities selected for funding and the amount requested include:
Abilene – pavement maintenance and repair, $96,525
Augusta – pavement maintenance and repair, $76,500
Baldwin City – runway drainage repair, $43,055
Chanute – design of pavement repair, $9,500
Colby – pavement maintenance and repair, $49,750
Dodge City – ADA accessible aircraft boarding ramp, $28,690
Eureka -- pavement maintenance and repair, $47,295
Great Bend – airfield lighting improvements, $34,545
Greensburg – grading and drainage for new airport, $1,080,000
Herington – self serve fuel system upgrade, $41,225
Hutchinson -- pavement maintenance and repair, $315,000
Independence – self serve fuel system upgrade, $29,750
Jetmore – on-site weather reporting system, $135,000
Kingman – on-site weather reporting system upgrade, $28,800
Lawrence – pavement repair, $133,560
Lincoln – grading and drainage for new airport, $720,000
Lucas -- pavement maintenance and repair and development planning, $132,270
Mankato -- pavement maintenance and repair, $117,000
McPherson – turf runway rehabilitation, $60,750
Parsons – design of airfield maintenance and repair, $9,500
Rose Hill – pavement maintenance and repair, $7,200
Salina – design and pavement maintenance and repair, $428,990
St. Francis – airfield safety equipment replacement, $37,800
Syracuse – pavement maintenance and repair, $27,000
Wellington – design pavement maintenance and repair, $71,250
Winfield / Arkansas City -- pavement maintenance and repair, $267,650
