Airport update

From insideindianabusiness.com dated 6-19-09:

Washington, D.C. Congressman Pete Visclosky today announced that the Porter County Municipal Airport will receive a $1,202,427 grant and that the Jasper County Airport will receive a $1,804,808 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The funding will improve operational efficiency and increase safety at the airports to help fuel the local economy. Airports are important economic engines for communities in Northwest Indiana, said Visclosky. By leveraging these funds to make improvements that will increase efficiency and raise safety, we will help the Porter and Jasper County airports create yet more economic activity in their respective communities.
....
Jasper County Airport will use its funding to rehabilitate Runway 18/36, the parallel taxiway, the terminal apron, and as reimbursement for phase 2 construction of Taxiway B-2. Runway 18/36 and its parallel taxiway, which were both constructed in 1965 and overlayed in 1992, will have its useful life extended with the rehabilitation. The Taxiway B-2 connector was needed so that aircraft could more efficiently exit the runway.

The funding was awarded through the FAA's Airport Improvement Program, which is intended to support improvements related to enhancing airport safety, capacity, security, and environmental concerns. To be eligible for a grant, an airport must be included in the National Plan for Integrated Airport Systems, which identifies public-use airports that are important to public transportation and contribute to the needs of civil aviation, national defense, and the postal service.

(The above release helps explain this.)