U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Congressmen John Dingell and John Conyers, Jr., announced today that Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) will receive an additional $12 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation towards renovating runway 05R/23L at Willow Run Airport.
The airport was awarded $9 million in initial federal funding in July to begin work on the renovation, as part of a larger $27.3 million request from WCAA. This additional funding will go towards completion of the runway repaving.
"Many Michigan businesses depend on Willow Run airport to meet their transportation needs, and this funding will help the airport to do its job more efficiently," said Sen. Levin. "This grant is great news for the airport and for our local economy that relies on it."
"This is more good news for Southeast Michigan companies that depend on business and cargo plane service at Willow Run," said Stabenow. "Rehabilitating the runway will ensure that the airport runs efficiently and supports economic growth."
"This funding is a continued investment in not only Willow Run Airport but our entire area, to help protect and create jobs that our working families rely on," said Dingell. "This facility is important to our local economy, and this smart funding will help them continue this important project as we all work to do more with less to get the job done on behalf of Southeast Michigan residents."
"I am delighted that, following a letter from the Michigan Congressional delegation this past summer, the Department of Transportation has awarded $12 million in grant funding to rehabilitate the runway at Willow Run Airport," said Conyers. "Willow Run is a critical regional transport hub, which is vital to continued economic growth in Southeast Michigan. At a time when federal infrastructure investment funding is in scarce supply, I thank Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx for prioritizing repair efforts here in Michigan."
Willow Run Airport is a leading air cargo and general aviation facility that handles 200 million pounds of cargo each year, leading to the contribution of $85 million to the regional economy and supporting 1,500 jobs across Michigan.