Congressman Pete Visclosky announced today that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $541,250 to Michigan City Municipal Airport and $2,152,842 to Porter County Regional Airport. These grants are part of a multistep process to maintain and enhance both the Michigan City Municipal Airport and Porter County Regional Airport. “I would like to thank the FAA and INDOT Office of Aviation for this grant award which will allow the airport to take another step forward in keeping our airfield safe for general aviation traffic,” said Jessica Ward, Manager, Michigan City Municipal Airport.
Porter County Regional Airport Director Kyle Kuebler said of the project, “This funding enables the Porter County Regional Airport to begin to reconstruct its most important infrastructure asset, its primary east-west runway, which allows the Airport to safely and effectively continue to provide its air transportation accessibility to our community and region.”
“Investing in Northwest Indiana’s airport infrastructure is essential to the vitality of our regional economy,” Congressman Visclosky said. “Projects that grow our transportation network attract new economic activity and generate good paying jobs.”
The 2012 Indiana Airports’ Economic Impact Study indicates that Michigan City Municipal Airport has an estimated economic impact of over $52.1 million annually and Porter County Regional Airport has an estimated economic impact of over $17.2 million annually.