US: FAA awards new grants for New Orleans, Philadelphia, Atlanta airports

A new international commercial service airport in Williston, North Dakota received a boost Aug. 21 when FAA awarded $20m in discretionary funds toward the project, as part of the US Department of Transportation (DOT)’s latest airport improvement program grants. Construction of the new Williston Basin International Airport broke ground in October 2016; the project—which will replace the city’s existing Sloulin Field International Airport—will cost an estimated $265m, of which $145m is expected to be federally funded. Much of the increased commercial air traffic in the region, located in northwest North Dakota, is driven by the state’s energy-related growth, as the city of Williston is located in the center of the Bakken Shale formation, “the largest continuous oil reserve ever assessed by the US Geological Survey,” according to the Sloulin Field website. The new airport is slated to open in late 2018-early 2019.<br/>