69 small California airports will share $130 million in federal grants
Seventy-two airports in California will collectively receive $158 million in federal grants for improvements to runways and other infrastructure. Of the recipients, 69 are small regional airports.
California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff announced the grant awards Thursday. Mather Airport is the sole Sacramento County recipient and will get $5.8 million for runway rehabilitation. Long Beach Municipal Airport won the largest grant: $24.3 million to expand and improve the terminal at Daugherty Field.
Fresno Yosemite International Airport will receive the third-largest grant, with $20.8 million to expand its terminal. Chowchilla will get $6.6 million for runway improvements. The Yolo County Airport, six miles northwest of Davis, will rehabilitate a runway with $170,620 and the Truckee-Tahoe Airport will receive $249,000 to replace pavement. The cities of Redding and Chico, as well as Merced and Shasta counties, won amounts between $200,000 and $260,000, much of which was for runway or taxi area improvements. Plumas County will stand up 11,550 feet of wildlife fencing with its $96,000 grant.
Three larger airports in the state — Oakland International, San Jose International and San Diego International — will together receive about $26.5 million. A complete list of recipients was posted on Padilla’s Senate website.
The funding comes primarily from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Airport Improvement Program. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was established under the administration of President Joe Biden, and the Airport Improvement Program has existed since the 1980s.
