The Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport received almost $900,000 in federal funds Tuesday to do repairs on its main runway.

U.S. 2nd District Rep. Brett Guthrie's office announced Tuesday afternoon the airport had received the $890,000 Department of Transportation grant. The grant was competitive, Guthrie's office said in a press release.

The release quotes Guthrie as saying, "Owensboro and Daviess County have always been a hub for industry, and improving the airport will only further encourage businesses to choose Daviess County for their facilities.

"This grant will go towards rehabilitating a runway at the airport," Guthrie said. "This is great news for the community, and I look forward to seeing the results of the grant."

Airport Board Chairman Ed Riney said the grant will be used to repair cracks in the runway, something the airport does regularly.

"It's not unusual for us to use $400,000 a year" for runway repair, Riney said. The entire $890,000 will be used to repair the runway this year.

The regular repairs are necessary to meet federal airport standards, Airport Manager Robert Barnett said.

"We are grateful to all of our representatives, especially Congressman Guthrie and everyone supporting the project," Barnett said. The project will be bid out as soon as possible, with the goal of finishing the work this year.

"This has been on our airport capital improvements list for a while," Barnett said. The work will create "minimal inconvenience" to airport tenants and users, he said.

Airport officials were hopeful they would receive the grant, Riney said.

"It's fortuitous," Riney said. "We were counting (on receiving the grant), but we are thankful we were able to get it."

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, [email protected] Twitter: @JamesMayse

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