Sturgis Municipal Airport has received a $1.2 million Federal Aviation Administration grant that will be used to build six T-Hangers.

“(The hangars) are extremely important since there's no more room for airplanes,” Director of Planning and Permitting Dave Smith said Tuesday after the airport learned it had received the grant. “We have them stuffed in every corner possible.”

He said the airport sees an average of 150 takeoffs and landings a week.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced Tuesday a total of $273 million in grants for 181 airports in 41 states and the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau and Puerto Rico, according to a press release.

Other airports receiving grants in the state are at Pierre ($1.3 million), Vermillion ($998,000), De Smet ($804,000), Milbank ($646,000), Platte ($577,000), Britton ($398,000), Yankton ($353,000), Mitchell ($331,000) and Tea ($130,000).

The money is to be used for”a variety of critical infrastructure and safety projects,” ranging from purchasing rescue aircraft and firefighting equipment to repairing runways and taxiways, according to the press release.

At a July 8 Sturgis City Council meeting, councilors approved a bid to construct the hangars at the airport with this funding, which comes from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and the CARES Act.

Smith said that four of the T-Hangars will generate $150-$175 per month per hangar and the others will generate about $200-$250 each.

Smith said Tuesday that the airport now has 15 hangars with three under construction — the three under construction are not part of the six to be built.

The new hangars will be big enough to hold Beechcraft twin duke planes, he said.

The Sturgis Municipal Airport is located at 13345 Alkali Road.

———

©2020 Rapid City Journal, S.D.

Visit Rapid City Journal, S.D. at http://www.rapidcityjournal.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.