Visclosky Announces Grants for Griffith-Merrillville, Porter County Airports

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky announced today that two local airports have received approval for a total of $191,490 in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The funding will go toward needed safety measures, design, and/or expansion.

Griffith-Merrillville Airport will receive $150,000 for land acquisition, which will enable the airport to purchase land in the runway area and prevent the construction of obstructions near Runway 8.  Porter County Municipal Airport, located in Valparaiso, will receive $41,490 to design an expanded terminal ramp with de-icing capacity.

“This funding will help improve safety at two of Northwest Indiana’s local airports,” Visclosky said.  “Increasing safety in transportation is an excellent use of federal funding, and I am pleased that two of our airports have received approval for these needed projects.”

According to the Department of Transportation, the airports now have the green light to move ahead with these planned improvements, and the grant funding will go to reimburse them for their expenses.

Craig Anderson, manager of the Griffith-Merrillville Airport, says the airport wants to acquire land bordering the runway protection zone so that no buildings can be constructed that would create a safety hazard.  Anderson says the general-aviation airport serves as a reliever for Chicago’s Midway Airport and handles business aircraft traffic for portions of Lake, Newton, and Jasper counties.

“We’re very happy about the funding, because obviously safety is a very big concern for us,” Anderson said.  “Anything we can do to protect users of the airport is definitely a big concern of ours.  It’s very good news.”

Kyle Kuebler, manager of the Porter County Municipal Airport, says the $41,490 approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation will go toward design, and he expects to receive $108,510 in additional construction funding in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003.  Kuebler says his airport, which serves general aviation and business aircraft, needs more parking space for airplanes and a collection system for runoff from de-icing.  The airport currently has no such system, which means it can not de-ice planes at this time.

“We’re very pleased to hear that the funding for the design phase has been approved,” Kuebler said.  “This plan will offer us more parking space and the ability to de-ice aircraft, which will enhance safety aspects during aviation operations.”