St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia Heights, Illinois is set to receive millions of dollars in federal funding for a major taxiway rebuild and new safety equipment. The airport will use $11,020,583 to improve Taxiway B and bring it into conformity with current standards, along with $68,400 to acquire 18 new vehicle movement area transponders.
Where the Money Is Coming From
According to KMOV, the grants are being provided through the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Infrastructure Grant Program. The funding is part of more than $22 million announced for two Illinois airports, and Rep. Nikki Budzinski announced on Thursday that both airports will receive federal grants for construction and safety-related upgrades.
The other airport included in the announcement is Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois. Per the same report, the two airports play a critical role in providing regional air service for their district and need modernization to better serve travelers and businesses.
New Transponders Aim to Boost Safety
The 18 new vehicle movement area transponders headed to St. Louis Downtown Airport are intended to help bring the facility into conformity with current safety standards, the report notes. Similar upgrades have been rolling out elsewhere in recent weeks — Richmond International Airport, for instance, received grant funding to install Vehicle Movement Area Transponders on roughly 60 more of its ground vehicles, according to 12 On Your Side.
A Regional Hub With Nearly a Century of History
St. Louis Downtown Airport sits in Cahokia Heights, Illinois, just minutes from downtown St. Louis, with direct access to downtown Clayton, Missouri via Interstate 64, according to the airport's own website. The facility opened in 1929 as Curtiss-Steinberg Airport before receiving its current name in 1999.
The airport describes itself as Illinois' most active airport outside Chicago, and says flight operations are continuing to accelerate as it and its tenants invest further in their facilities. The new Taxiway B improvements and transponder upgrades represent the latest infusion of federal dollars aimed at keeping pace with that growth.
