Grand Junction Regional Airport received a $12.5 million Airport Improvement Program grant from the Federal Aviation Administration on Aug. 18, and the money will go toward the airport’s ongoing runway expansion, which is about a year ahead of schedule.

The runway originally was expected to open on the airport’s 100th anniversary in 2030, but now the airport plans to host the runway’s grand opening in 2029.

Third Congressional District Rep. Jeff Hurd was at the Aug. 18 event to make the grant announcement. Hurd made it a point to say the airport has “done a fantastic job on the grant front. They make it easy for us to push these through, to get behind them and support them. That’s a testament to the leadership, but also the team here.”

Linde Marshall, who chairs the Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority’s board of directors, said the airport’s mission “is to provide safe, reliable and sustainable aviation facilities to promote economic growth and a high quality of life in the region,” and that starts with the runway.

“We know the runway needs to be replaced to continue to serve our growing community and the varying needs of our region,” she said. “I am excited to share that we are on track for our runway to open a year early in 2029. That’s in large part due to grant awards like the one Congressman Hurd announced (Aug. 18).

“With this grant, the airport has been awarded over $150 million since 2018, primarily to fund this runway-replacement project.”

Marshall said the airport’s leadership and its planning and design team “have worked meticulously to ensure that all moving parts of the runway expansion are thoughtfully organized, communicated with our funding partners at the FAA, and shovel ready.”

Because of that, the airport realized cost efficiencies with its subcontractors and is positioned to accept additional funding as it becomes available.

Grand Junction Regional Airport CEO Angela Padalecki said the runway project still has more than $100 million in work remaining. Grants such as the $12.5 million from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program “finish funding the sub-base of the runway, representing a significant milestone on the project.

“Furthermore, the airport has additional work ready to fund should the FAA have any extra grant funding available as they close out their fiscal year. Having shovel-ready projects lined up has enabled us to successfully secure additional grant funding to accelerate the project schedule and save money through better economies of scale and larger, more efficient projects.”

Padalecki said Grand Junction Regional Airport received an additional $17 million in grant funding in 2024 above what was planned to fund extra sub-base construction.

“While we don’t expect extra grant funding again this year, we have projects ready should the FAA have an opportunity to fund them,” she said.

The grants also lead to savings, as Padalecki added, “Thanks to the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Bill, these grants fund 95 percent of associated project costs and require just a 5 percent match from the airport. This is half of the 10 percent match typically required on the airport’s FAA grants and will save the airport over $680,000.”