Meadows Field Airport has been notified it will receive $11.1 million in federal taxpayer money to rehabilitate its main taxiway and make other repairs expected to reduce the property’s maintenance costs.
A series of grants announced Monday by Rep. Kevin McCarthy will cover improvements to the taxiway connecting the airport’s two runways to the William M. Thomas Terminal, private hangars and other facilities. The work is projected to extend the taxiway’s functional life by 20 years.
The money will also pay for electrical and drainage work at Meadows Field, which is owned and operated by Kern County.
All but $1 million of the money came in the form of a federal Airport Improvement Grant. The remainder, which originated with the pandemic recovery program known as CARES, covered the sum that would normally come from local matching funds.
In a news release about the grants, McCarthy thanked U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Administrator Stephen Dickson of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Meadows Field has spent $50 million in recent years rehabilitating one of its runways. County Airports Director Mark Witsoe said by email the taxiway needed work, too.
“Being in service and in the sun almost 20 years, the two miles long section of old pavement is ready to be replaced,” he wrote.
Original Story: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/meadows-field-scores-11-1-million-in-federal-grants/article_e899f466-ba67-11ea-9309-e35434621509.html
