The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced five Iowa airports are splitting $27 million in grants to improve passenger terminals.
The Eastern Iowa Airport is getting $20.4 million to expand its passenger terminal. The funding will complete the project to modernize parts of the Cedar Rapids airport that serve commercial passengers.
The Des Moines Airport is getting $5 million toward construction of a new passenger terminal. The Des Moines Airport Authority began making plans for a new terminal as annual passenger traffic crossed the three million mark and a lack of gates for passenger boarding limits new flight options.
The Dubuque Regional Airport is getting $1.3 million and that will help pay for improvements to its terminal for passengers.
The Washington Municipal Airport is getting $130,000 for work on its general aviation terminal, which sees an average of about 12,000 flights a year. The Council Bluffs Municipal Airport, which opened in 1967, is getting $112,500 to improve accessibility at the airport.
The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure bill Congresswoman Cindy Axne and Senator Chuck Grassley supported. Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says this investment in Iowa’s airports will help ensure safety and efficiency for pilots, passengers, and cargo and bring more good paying jobs to Iowa. Republican Senator Grassley says it’s critical that airport infrastructure be kept up to date to maintain a resilient supply chain and a healthy economy.
The other Republicans in Iowa’s congressional delegation — Joni Ernst, Randy Feenstra, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson — opposed the infrastructure package.