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State Commits $2.9M to Upgrade County Airport

By Submitted Report
The Tube City Almanac
February 23, 2015
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

West Mifflin's Allegheny County Airport is in line for $2.9 million in state funding to upgrade the parking lot and sidewalks leading to the terminal building.

Leslie Richards, acting state Secretary of Transportation, announced the grant as part of a package of $9.7 million in improvements at six airports in Pennsylvania.

"With aviation supporting thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania, it's vital that we ensure airports in Pennsylvania can make safety and operational upgrades," Richards said. "These projects are also investments in the
communities these airports serve."

Built in 1931, Allegheny County Airport served as the Pittsburgh and McKeesport area's primary airport for commercial passenger flights until 1952.

Allegheny County is currently Pennsylvania's seventh-busiest airport, with 75,000 takeoffs and landings every year, according to state and county officials. Now used by business, charter, freight and corporate aircraft, the airport also hosts the Pittsburgh Flight Training Center and Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, as well as the regional network of STAT MedEvac medical helicopters.

It also serves as a reliever airport to Pittsburgh International Airport.

A PennDOT spokesperson said the airport's public parking area and sidewalks are "severely deteriorated."

The grants are distributed through the Aviation Transportation Assistance Program, which is a capital budget grant program funded with bonds. The grants leverage more than $8.3 million in local matching funds. Authorized by the state General Assembly, the grants are administered by PennDOT's Bureau of Aviation.

The other projects are in Bucks County (Doylestown and Quakertown airports), Lawrence County (New Castle Municipal Airport), Luzerne County (Hazleton Municipal Airport) and Lycoming County (Williamsport Regional Airport).

(Avicennasis photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons)

Originally published February 23, 2015.

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