Under the stimulus package, the Standing Rock Airport in Fort Yates, N.D., about 60 miles south of Bismarck, will receive $1 million to repave the runway, install lights and build a fence. The airport has about 200 takeoffs and landings a year, roughly the traffic Atlanta has every 90 minutes. But the upgrades might help the reservation attract new wind energy business or defense contracts, His Horse Is Thunder said.
The grants were open to any publicly owned airport regardless of size. Private groups could compete so long as their airports served more than 2,500 passengers a year or were designated as "reliever" airports to reduce air traffic congestion.
That's what opened the door for the Williamson Flying Club. The group of roughly 200 hobbyists who fly Pipers and Cessnas owns and operates the Williamson-Sodus Airport near Lake Ontario in upstate New York. The private club recently resurfaced its runway with the help of a $555,000 stimulus grant.
Then there is the Purdue University Airport in West Lafayette, Ind. The two-runway airfield was closed to commercial flights more than five years ago and is mainly used by students in the aviation technology program, the football and basketball teams and senior administrators. Most students use Indianapolis International Airport, an hour's drive south, said Betty Stansbury, the Purdue airport drector. Under the stimulus package, Purdue's airport will get $1.45 million to raise its fence from 8 feet to 12 feet and add a barrier to prevent animals from burrowing underneath.
Live next to the PUA for many years....It has more connection with past and present astronauts and engineers than any other airport in the US. It’s just too small for commercial use and the gravel pit and made expansion impossible.
That aside the Forestry Department of PU turned cyote and deer loose in the abandoned gravel pit that is next to the airport....Research? DUH....Now there are major conflicts between the two.
If PU is to continue producing the people for the space program, the fence is necessary. Or they need to build a new airport which would be much more expensive.