Two area airports receive state funding for improvements

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation has approved state and federal funding for four airports for a total investment of $13 million. Two area airports will benefit from those grants.

The following airports received state funding:

• Burlington-Alamance: $167,000 for a sewer expansion to the east side of the airfield;
• Curtis L. Brown (Elizabethtown): $265,000 for design, bid and archaeological study on a new airport industrial park;
• Odell Williamson (Ocean Isle Beach): $33,334 for phase one of a new perimeter fence;
• Raleigh-Durham: $12,540,193 for taxiway rehabilitation.

Airports and aviation-related industries contribute $31 billion to North Carolina’s economy each year, per a 2016 report. There are 123,400 airport-related jobs in the state. The Division of Aviation is responsible for state airport and aviation system planning and development. It also provides funding to communities for constructing and improving airports throughout the state.