NEWS RELEASE

Gadsden Awarded Million Dollar Airport Grant from FAA

The Gadsden Airport Authority and the City of Gadsden are pleased to announce the acceptance of a $1 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The competitive grant was awarded for necessary improvements to airfield operations at the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport.

“This is an important investment and a critical next step in our plan to continue to improve the airport area. We appreciate the FAA’s ongoing commitment to the operations at the airport and to supporting the many activities that take place there, including the increasing military operations with the 20th Special Forces and other units” said Mayor Sherman Guyton.

Guyton continues, “This is a great investment for the people of Gadsden, Rainbow City, Etowah County, and all of Northeast Alabama. With a 5% match from the airport authority, this will have a huge impact on the area with limited cost to Gadsden residents. ”The grant will be used to rehabilitate the taxiway to the main runway, which was repaved in 2014, and to improve the drainage area and protect the electrical vault that powers the airport.

“The taxiway project has been needed for a couple of years and we had the opportunity to receive discretionary money from the FAA. This is a competitive process and we were very happy to receivethe funding. The taxiway was reaching the end of the life and we should be able to complete this project by the end of the year” said Kenneth Gilbert of Neel-Schaffer Inc., Consulting Engineer for Northeast Alabama Regional Airport.  The Northeast Alabama Regional Airport is a critical part of Gadsden’s future as it supports military aviation, general aviation, and vital industrial recruitment and development activities.

On-going investment in the airport and leadership by the Airport Authority Board of Directors has led to the ability to win competitive grants to ensure the long term success of the airport and Gadsden’s future.