The Grand Junction Regional Airport is among the recipients of  $2 million in grants.

The airport received a $300,000 grant for the rehabilitation design for the secondary runway.

“Repairing our secondary runway has been a priority for GJT for years, as it’s a valuable asset to our general aviation community,” said Angela Padalecki, executive director of the Grand Junction Regional Airport.

Blake Field in Delta received a $135,000 grant for pavement maintenance. Garfield County Airport in Rifle received a $40,000 grant to purchase a crack fill machine.

The Colorado Aeronautical Board approved 10 grants from the 2021 Colorado discretionary aviation grant program. Following passage of the American Rescue Plan in March, some additional, indirect funding became available. Due to provisions in the law, $2 million in state aviation funds originally earmarked for federal matching funds were reallocated to support state and locally funded airport improvement projects. These projects were previously programmed, but deferred due to reduced revenues to the Colorado Department of Transportation Division of Aeronautics.

“We are grateful to the CDOT Aeronautics Division for their partnership that helped us develop a plan to fund the rehabilitation as quickly as possible and to the Colorado Aeronautical Board for their support and approval of this grant,” Padalecki said.

Shoshana Lew, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, thanked the Colorado congressional delegation for advocating for the state during negotiation of the American Rescue Plan. “The 100 percent federal airport grant share contained in the plan allows us to further leverage aeronautics division funding to support more airports across our state, from Delta to Walden to Lamar.”

David Ulane, director of the aeronautics division, agreed. “The indirect benefits created for us by the 100 percent federal share provision this year are incredibly valuable and have allowed us to keep many of our state-funded airport improvement projects on track.”

Grants ranged from $400,000 to $25,000 and will support everything from reconstruction projects to pavement maintenance to snow removal equipment purchases.