Airport receives $2M in grants for upgrades

Glacier Park International Airport has received two grants worth a total of $2.07 million from the Federal Aviation Administration to rehabilitate the runway and update the facility’s master plan.

“This is called entitlement money, so it’s basically money we get every year from the FAA,” said Airport Director Rob Ratkowski. “It’s based on the number of in-flight passengers.”

The money can be used on capital improvements previously approved by the FAA.

Ratkowski said the airport would be reimbursed out of those funds for expenditures they have already made in the master planning process, which accounts for $534,155. They would use the remaining $1,539,844 to add a sealant to the runway to keep it from deteriorating and to do some pavement work over by Glacier Jet Center.

He said all the work would be done at night to avoid interruption to normal air traffic, and would span from mid-August to mid-October.

The funds are a 90-10 match, Ratkowski said, meaning the federal government provides 90 percent of the funding for the approved projects through these grants and the airport is expected to pay the other 10 percent.

Both U.S. Sens. Steve Daines, R-Montana, and Jon Tester, D-Montana, lauded the grants and said they encouraged the program. The grants given to the airport were a part of about $18 million that was distributed to airports statewide.

“Montanans should be able to count on safe and reliable access to airports and infrastructure,” Daines said in a prepared statement issued Monday. “This funding will help bring our state’s infrastructure to the 21st century, and as a result will boost tourism, create jobs, and encourage visitors from around the nation to come see the treasures our great state has to offer.”

Tester concurred in a statement issued Tuesday.

“These funds will help our airports invest in critical needs that will keep travelers safe and connected,” Tester’s statement read. “Investments like this will help local business thrive and provide a boost to the community.”

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.