Sawyer International Airport Gets $4.5K Federal Grant to Improve Runway, Infrastructure

GWINN, MI – Sawyer International Airport in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will receive a $400,500 federal grant to improve infrastructure and safety, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced Wednesday.

The airport, located in Marquette County on the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, will use the money to seal pavement on runways and taxiways and to modify a sand and chemical storage building.

In total, $520.5 million in grant money for American airports was announced on Wednesday.

“This $520.5 million in federal support to airports across the country will help to keep our nation’s airports in good shape and make air travel a better experience for passengers,” Secretary Chao said in a statement.

The federal government has now invested $11.42 billion in more than two thousand airports across the United States for safety and infrastructure improvements since January 2017.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. civil aviation supports more than 5% of U.S. gross domestic product; $1.6 trillion in economic activity; and nearly 11 million jobs.

“America’s airports provide a gateway to the world for our citizens while at the same time delivering first impressions of the United States to visitors from abroad,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. “It’s in our national interest to make them the crown jewel in our transportation system. The Airport Improvement Program allows us to do just that.”

Sawyer International Airport provides service to Detroit Metro International Airport and Minneapolis St. Paul International via Delta Air Lines and Chicago O’Hare International Airport via American Airlines.

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