Runway Project to Receive $2.7 Million

July 2, 2007
Runway repaving project at Missoula International will get $2.7 million boost

The upcoming runway repaving project at Missoula International Airport will get a boost in the form of a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The money, which will be distributed through the Federal Aviation Administration, will go a long way toward covering the estimated $5 million cost of the project, said Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, in announcing the grant.

"Air travel has become an increasingly important means of transportation and commerce for Montana's communities, and this grant will help fund significant infrastructure improvements," Rehberg said in a written statement released Friday afternoon.

Two weeks ago, Rehberg received an update on future improvement plans from airport director Cris Jensen during a tour of the airport's new 18,000-square-foot terminal expansion.

Missoula's airport is expanding and updating its facilities in response to everincreasing numbers of passengers, Jensen said. In fact, those numbers are expected to climb this summer as the airport adds several new nonstop flights.

Horizon Air, for one, is expected to add a fourth daily flight to Seattle, and United will be offering service to Denver four times a day in addition to daily round-trip flights to Chicago.

The repaving project is slated to begin in late August and will disrupt commercial traffic at the airport on and off for about three weeks while construction crews work round the clock to replace the worndown runway surface.

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