The Tri-Cities Airport will get $8.7 million in federal money for improvement projects.
The money comes from the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport's traditional funding source, said Airport Director Jim Morasch. The money will be used to improve the runway and complete the terminal apron project, he said.
He said bids for the projects will be solicited in the next few months, and work will start in June. The projects will be completed in about six months, as required by the federal government.
The money is part of an almost $30 million stimulus package for construction projects at airports in Eastern Washington.
The projects will add years to the life of the Pasco facility and help take care of the current traffic at the airport, Morasch said.
About $4.5 million will be used for reconstructing the primary runway at the Tri-Cities Airport, which was last reconstructed in the early 1990s, and $4.2 million will to go to replace the asphalt apron with a concrete surface on the north side near the control tower, Morasch said.
In 2007, a similar project on the south side to expand the apron -- the area where planes park -- and taxiway gave airlines more room to operate at the airport, he said.
Airport officials are also working to update the airport's master plan.
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