Three WA airports receive federal grants

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint release by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) on Tuesday stated that three Washington State airports will receive grants from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminal Program to support infrastructure upgrades and modernization projects.

“These investments are going to help passengers get to where they need to be, and strengthen our supply chains as we work to move goods as quickly as possible at the lowest possible costs,” wrote Murray in the release.

The Airport Terminal Grants will fund the relocation of a checkpoint at Sea-Tac, a passenger terminal expansion in Spokane and a new terminal building in Pullman for a total of $37.3 million, the release said.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will receive $16 million to fund the relocation of a TSA checkpoint from the upstairs departures area to the downstairs arrival area. The release stated Sea-Tac surpassed 50 million passengers in 2019 and is one of the nation’s top 10 busiest airports. The grant will fund 65 percent of the anticipated $24.6 million cost of the project.

“Nobody likes waiting in line at the airport,” wrote Sen. Cantwell. “By relocating checkpoint 1 and adding two more screening lanes, Sea-Tac will increase their capacity to screen 940 passengers per hour.”

Spokane International Airport will receive $15 million to fund the facility’s terminal expansion and renovation (TREX) project. The grant will fund Phase 5 construction of the Concourse C project, covering items like flooring, ceilings, paneling and doors. When complete, the project will add six additional ticket counters and three additional gates at Concourse C. Overall, the TREX project is expected to create 1,605 jobs and $293 million in economic impact, the release said.

“Spokane County is growing ten times faster than the national average, and Eastern Washington is rapidly expanding. In order to continue attracting businesses and workers, the transportation infrastructure must keep up,” said Sen. Cantwell.

According to the release, Pullman-Moscow International Airport will receive $6.365 million to augment its planned terminal building project. The funding will allow the airport to build a third boarding bridge, rather than the two they can afford at current funding levels, and a third boarding gate. The total cost of the third boarding bridge is estimated at $6.7 million.

“From Spokane to Pullman, our airports are absolutely vital to our regional economies and are long overdue for serious investments,” said Senator Murray.