Three federal grants totaling nearly $24 million have been approved for Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport.
Jackson City Council members approved all three grants during their meeting Tuesday with three unanimous votes. In addition, the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority received a multimodal grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation totaling $247,500. The grant will be used for one of the airport’s runways.
In total, the airport has received nearly $32 million in grants in 2024 alone. Earlier this year, the JMAA received another $8 million grant as part of the bipartisan U.S. Airport Terminal Infrastructure Act to be used to repair some of the airport’s infrastructure.
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Last week, Hattiesburg Airport also received a $1,574,496 grant from MDOT to be used to improve an existing runway and build a new one.
What are the 3 federal grants used for?
Two of the grants – one for $6,203,694 and another for $17,167,606 – will be used for “repairs and alterations” to one of the airport’s taxiways, according to council documents. The third grant is valued at $179,730 and will be used for “repairs and alterations” to the runway safety area.
“This funding will help complete the taxiway rehabilitation,” said Rosa Beckett, airport CEO.
Beckett told the council that the airport has already spent over $22 million and that “these funds will help us complete the rehabilitation” of the runway.
The third grant is valued at $179,730 and will be used for “repairs and modifications” to the runway safety area.
According to LSherie Dean, JMAA director of communications, marketing and public relations, the airport currently has 26 runways.
No delays are expected in these projects, Dean said.
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Council documents show that the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority applied for the grants on July 8. Ten days later, on July 18, the Federal Aviation Administration offered all three to the JMAA. Tuesday’s council vote authorized Beckett to accept the FAA grants on behalf of the JMAA.
All three grants are part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021 that provides $15 billion in funding for airport infrastructure.
