About $50 million in federal money will be coming to Hawaiʻi to improve airports throughout the state.
President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Job Act last month.
Of that money, $49.3 million will go toward improving Hawaiʻi’s airports.
Jai Cunningham, with the state Department of Transportation, says the money will make a big difference in maintaining airport operations.
"Over the past year, you’ve seen a lot of things sort of come to fruition, whether it be at Honolulu, whether it be over at Kona with the federal inspection site. Those things you can actually see because it’s sort of part of the airport proper," he said.
"What you don’t necessarily see is some of the runway and taxiway work that has to be done, and that needs to be done to keep everything up and running safely. So we’re talking about rehabilitation of runways and taxiways, the shoulders, lighting system upgrades as well at the neighbor island airports," Cunningham told Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
Cunningham says the DOT is awaiting federal guidance on which projects meet the act’s requirements.
