Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — The Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Airport received a federal grant this week to complete necessary improvements to the airport's runway.

U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker announced the $5.17 million grant on Monday, July 31. The funds come from the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program.

The grant will fund the final phase of the airport's west taxiway lighting system, a press release says. The lighting system needs the upgrades to ensure that planes can travel safely in low-visibility environments.

"This FAA infrastructure grant is an investment in safety and economic competitiveness at the Jackson-Evers Airport," Sen. Cochran said in the press release. "Completing the taxiway rehabilitation will ensure the state's largest airport remains a safe facility for travelers and an economic development asset."

The grant will cover the cost of rehabilitation of more than 5,000 feet of two runways at the airport, including the full lighting system, paving and overlay, the press release says.

"Federal investments at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport have preserved safe air travel for thousands of Mississippians in the capital region," Sen. Wicker said in a press release. "This grant will fund the final phase of renovations to the airport's primary runway lighting, ensuring that pilots can safely land, even in the worst visibility conditions."

In July, Hawkins Field Airport also received a $727,700 AIP federal grant to rehabilitate the runway there, which supports the Mississippi National Guard's UH-60 Blackhawk operations.

Several smaller, regional airports in the state have benefited from the AIP program this year, but this is the first grant that benefitted Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Airport.



Email state reporter Arielle Dreher at [email protected].