“Infrastructure is the lifeblood of rural America,” Berry said. “Improving our rural airports is a necessary step as the counties of Arkansas’ First Congressional District continue to be a place families and businesses want to stay and grow.”

The grants come from the Federal Aviation Administration and cover a variety of improvements:

Clay County

·        Piggott Municipal Airport will receive $194,769 to improve the runway safety area by filling in a drainage ditch just south of Runway 36, remove two power poles currently in the approach to Runway 18, and acquire land adjacent to the airport needed for the development of a future aircraft parking apron.

Crittenden County

·        West Memphis Municipal Airport will receive $209,000 to evaluate and prioritize future development work items for the airport.

Greene County

·        Paragould Municipal Airport - Kirk Field will receive $1,000,000 to acquire land in the runway protection zone to prevent any construction in that area, construct a partial parallel taxiway to enhance safety and increase capacity of the runway, and conduct an airport master plan study to provide guidance for future airport development.

Lonoke County

·        Carlisle Municipal Airport will receive $249,500 to rehabilitate the taxiway and extend the service life of the taxiway pavement, construct a taxiway to the new hangar development area, and conduct an airport master plan study to guide future airport development.

Mississippi County

·        Manila Municipal Airport will receive $249,999 to extend the taxiway, relocate and install an approach guidance system to increase landing safety, and conduct an airport master plan study to provide guidance for future airport development.

Prairie County

·        Stuttgart Municipal airport will receive $1,345,800 to strengthen the runway and improve the overlay in order to meet FAA standard grades.