Udall Announces $7.5 Million in Funding for Airport Improvements

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, announced that airports in Albuquerque and Santa Fe will receive a combined $7.5 million for taxiway improvements. The funding will pay for critical repairs and an expansion of infrastructure.

Albuquerque International Sunport will receive $5 million in grant support for a project to rehabilitate Taxiway A. Santa Fe Municipal Airport will receive $2.5 million in grant support for a project to build a new taxiway. Both projects are funded under the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airport Improvement Program, authorized by federal aviation legislation passed by Congress. The Sunport is the state largest airport with commercial flights to a variety of destinations. Santa Fe Municipal Airport restarted commercial airline service in 2009.

"These infrastructure projects will help put New Mexicans back to work while also making our airports safer and more efficient," Udall said. "Air travel is critically important to New Mexico's businesses - and especially its tourism economy - to bring visitors from around the country and the world to the Land of Enchantment. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I'm proud to support programs to ensure our airports have the funding they need for maintenance and expansions and to help grow our state's economy."