City receives $166K TxDOT grant for airport improvements

The Texas Department of Transportation has been given approval by the Texas Transportation Commission to provide $166,667 to the city of Graham for improvements at Graham Municipal Airport. The funds will be used for improvements which include engineering and design for pavement and electrical improvements. The project costs will be funded by the city of Graham and TxDOT’s Aviation Facilities Grant Program, which works to preserve and improve the state’s general aviation system. The request for funding came after Resolution 105 and 106 were approved during a regular City Council meeting Sept. 7 and signed by Mayor Jack Graham and City Manager Brandon Anderson. Resolution 105 allowed the city to request financial assistance from TxDOT for engineering and design for pavement rehabilitation and installation of a precision approach path indicator (PAPI) in the fiscal year 2017-18 Aviation Capital Improvement Project. The total cost was estimated at $166,666 and the city will be responsible for 10 percent of the total cost, or about $16,666. Resolution 106 allowed the city to seek financial assistance from TxDOT for total rehabilitation, PAPI installation, taxiway construction, drainage improvements and marking in the fiscal year 2017-18 Aviation Capital Improvement Project. The total cost was estimated to be $1,563,500 and the city will be responsible for 10 percent of the total cost, around $156,350. The TxDOT grant will provide funding for Resolution 105 for this current fiscal year and the city will request the funding for Resolution 106 during the next fiscal year. The city is currently discussing the possibility of covering the remaining costs from the first resolution with funds from the Graham Economic Improvement Board. During this year, TxDOT will provide approximately $60 million in funding for planning, construction and maintaining community airports. Graham Municipal Airport is one of 275 airports that are eligible for TxDOT funding.